Our Community, Our Mission
Our Community, Our Mission
Ep #319- What If Preparedness Is The Kindest Gift?
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In this episode, Scott Bryant, Director of the TRM Distribution Center and Marcus Molinar, Deputy Director of Property and Security Operations discuss the Topeka Rescue Mission's Back to School Drive and why it makes a meaningful difference for local children and families. They explain the goal of providing backpacks and essential school supplies to around 400 kids across Shawnee County before the school year begins. They also share how listeners can contribute through the Amazon wish list, donation drop-offs, or volunteering. Beyond the supplies themselves, the episode explores how being prepared for school helps children feel confident, included, and ready to learn. It's a conversation about meeting practical needs, strengthening families, and creating lasting impact in the community.
Fireworks After The Fourth
SPEAKER_03Hello, everybody. Thank you for joining us for our community, our mission, a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission. This is July the 7th of 2026, episode number 319. I'm your host, Barry Fieker, on this uh three days after the 250th anniversary of the uh Declaration of Independence here with Lamanda Cunningham, Mary Crable. Good morning. Good morning. How are you? That was a lot, wasn't it?
SPEAKER_04That was a whole lot.
SPEAKER_03That was a whole lot. Have you did you survive the explosions and everything that was going on?
SPEAKER_04A little bit. I don't know. My they were really loud in my neighborhood. Like window rattling.
SPEAKER_03I think people were like really wanting to blow stuff up. I think so too. Like big stuff. Yeah. My dog my dog is leading a class action lawsuit with a good dog against our neighborhood.
SPEAKER_01Understandable.
SPEAKER_03Anyways.
SPEAKER_01And usually they go in right as the sun is, you know, starting to go down. And this time they didn't. Because fireworks were starting around our house well before it got dark. Oh my gosh. And as soon as those chickens were, I guess, hearing it, they were kind of like, Well, we're not going to go be Chick-fil-A. So they ran in the house. And they were all up. And I was trying to get them to come out of the chicken house, and they were kind of like, we don't know what's happening in there, but we're not coming out. So they didn't get to graze very long on the fourth. They were too scared.
SPEAKER_03It rained all morning and afternoon. And then they have that too. Oh. Another class action lawsuit coming up. For sure. Yep. So today we have a couple of guys who have been on podcast before. We have Scott Brant, who is director of distribution services. That's a kind of a new uh appointment for you. And uh welcome.
SPEAKER_02Good morning.
SPEAKER_03Good to see you again. Thank you. Marcus Molinar, and he is our director, deputy director of security and property operations, which has a whole bunch of stuff underneath that. You're not just going around with a badge and a flashlight.
SPEAKER_01He
Strawberry Sundaes And Chocolate Day
SPEAKER_01does that too.
SPEAKER_03You do that too. Marcus, good to see you. So um before we jump into the topic of the day, uh we need to, and we want to include you guys in on this because these are very important. What is special about the 7th of July every single year, whether it is nationally or globally? And so we're gonna start out with um National Strawberry Sunday Day. We're so proud. We're so proud of you.
SPEAKER_04No. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_03We had a pecan sandies last time we did a podcast. I called it as Pecan Sunday. Uh-huh. And so we're this is a true Sunday. National Strawberry Sunday Day. Now, why would we have a National Strawberry Sunday day in July?
SPEAKER_04Why wouldn't we, I guess?
SPEAKER_03Why wouldn't we?
SPEAKER_04Well, we would, because that's kind of when strawberries are ripe.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_04So it makes sense that you'd want to highlight the strawberry. I don't know why it has to be a Sunday.
SPEAKER_03You know, I'd be a mini day, right?
SPEAKER_04It would be a Monday. Strawberry Monday.
SPEAKER_01I love strawberries, but I do not love strawberries on ice cream. And I just really upset the family after church last week because we went and got fried ice cream at the Mexican restaurant, and the guy said, Do you want everything on it? Strawberries? And I said, No. And all of them looked at me and were like, What?
SPEAKER_04Did you not just have a strawberry shake yesterday?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but that's not a Sunday. Okay. I can't mix the strawberries with like the caramel and the chocolate and there's a difference between on and in.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Got it.
SPEAKER_03I don't want it laying on top of the ice cream. She wants it mixed up with it. Okay. Well, kind of like at Thanksgiving, you know, food dump touchs. That was National Strawberry Sunday Day. I don't know what they're doing to the rest of the world, but except they are doing this, it's World Chocolate Day. Oh, that's wonderful.
SPEAKER_04Now chocolate-covered strawberries are fabulous. And I am fine with that without the ice cream. So it's good that these two are on the same day. Exactly.
SPEAKER_03And then it needs to be followed up by the next one. Global Forgiveness Day. You have to be able to forgive yourself if you participate in the National Strawberry Sunday Day and World Chocolate Day too much. Or forgive the person that gave them to you.
SPEAKER_04Because I wouldn't have done it otherwise.
SPEAKER_03That'd be known as your dealer.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. Exactly.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Now I don't know how all this fits in with our research and development department, which they work all week long trying to come up with these. You bet they do. So they come up with National Strawberry Sunday Day, World Chocolate Day, Global Forgiveness Day, and then National Deck Day. Huh. Huh. How that ties in together.
SPEAKER_01I've been you know, you can enjoy your chocolate and strawberries and talk to your loved ones about forgiving them on your deck.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. But I think probably nature.
SPEAKER_01There you go.
SPEAKER_03Spiritual tie. So what you do is you crawl out to your deck after you've eaten all that stuff. Yeah. And you get in your lounge chair, and then you dream about exercising. That's it. Maybe that's what it's like. Oh, maybe that'll be next week. That's it, Barry. Okay, I'm glad we could solve that mystery. So uh yeah, if you all are wondering what the importance of the 7th of July is, you just found out, but also this podcast today, what we're
Back To School Warning For Kids
SPEAKER_03gonna talk about. Now, our subject that we're gonna jump right into is something that for um younger ears they may not want to hear. So this would be a time to uh get your little kiddos out of the room right now. Uh because we're going to be okay, give you a chance here. Go ahead, get them out. Yep, or plug their ears or something like that, or turn on the music really loud. Because we're gonna be talking about back to school. Woo-hoo.
SPEAKER_01And all parents start screaming in gratitude. Right. They're excited.
SPEAKER_03And they'll say, Is that start today? Did that start today? And the kids are going, When's that starting? Yeah. So you got a little time yet. But back to school is an annual event, Speaker Rescue Mission, been doing for a while, and so we're gonna do it again. And so let's talk about that. Uh Lamanda, you're a former principal. School, um, educator, yeah, all that stuff. Kids are pretty important.
SPEAKER_01They are important.
SPEAKER_03So talk about that before we jump in to talk with the guys about the logistics of a back to school.
SPEAKER_01You know, I think from the past educator perspective, um, kids are just incredible. Um, I remember thinking through as a teacher and then as an assistant principal and as a principal, you know, you walk through the halls and you think to yourself, like, this is our future. Um and one day, these are going to be our mamas and our daddies and our lawyers and our doctors and social services, um, therapists, and all of these things. And um, you know, I think you can just have such a sense of pride and gratitude that you get to be a small part of their journey. Um, and they're hilarious and they're honest and they
Why Schools Matter For Kids
SPEAKER_01keep you on your toes. Um, it's exhausting as an educator. Big shout out to all of the uh teachers and paraprofessionals and counselors and principals. Like the the work is hard, yet um it is so purposeful. And um the other part, you know, that's kind of the more emotional part is schools are also a place of safety and refuge for a lot of kids. There's a lot of kids that um struggle in school, and then there's a lot of kids that can't wait to come to school because of the struggles at home. And so, either way, in my opinion, as a past educator, um, it's a beautiful battlefield to be able to fight for kids, to help them change, or to fight for them about things that they might be fighting against. And so that's incredible. Being at the rescue mission, um, you know, this is a touchy subject for me. Um, and I really try hard to articulate it. And I think sometimes I probably butcher it, especially if I'm at a speaking event. But, you know, we average um f anywhere between 50 to 65 kids a night when we look at a 12-month period. Um, and so sometimes we've had as much as 65 and 70 kids. Um, sometimes that will uh drop down to, you know, 35-ish, but when you average it out, uh around 60 to 65 kids. And on one hand, that is beautiful when you think about where would those kids be? Um obviously um doubling up with another family, being on someone's couch, all of that, that's not an option for everyone. And that is why at any given time we have dozens upon dozens of kiddos here at the rescue mission. And so as the CEO here, I love that we have the beautiful Hope Center and um that the kids get to play, and it's it's so sweet to see the school bus come and pick them up, and um, you see the parents trying to rehabilitate and working our programs and trying to really overcome a lot of challenges. The other side of me as a CEO is um, you know, if I ever had to go find another job because we've never had kids experiencing homelessness again, it'd be worth it. Because on the other side is it breaks my heart to know that on any given night we have 50 to 60 kids that um are being tucked in a bed at a rescue mission, um, and that they're going to be waking up with 120 plus other individuals and going through a dining hall where we're trying to feed hundreds of people. And um so that that tugs up my heartstrings too. Um, but I'm thankful that we have the Hope Center. I'm thankful for the Hope Center staff uh that pour into the lives of kids. I'm thankful for educators who are uh spending almost their entire summer when everybody says teachers are off. They're not, neither are principals, and uh trying to get ready for another nine or ten months of loving kids, stewarding kids, and helping them despite a lot of challenges many have.
SPEAKER_03And in spite of those challenges, there's opportunities where the parents and the children will find them in a very, very difficult time in life with an opportunity to turn a corner. Um and one of those corners is to be able to make sure that their children get good quality education, which we have great partnerships with the school districts. But also when they go to school, um they need supplies. And those supplies um aren't always able to be purchased out of their own pocket many times when they're at the rescue mission, and others in the community. They don't have that opportunity, yet they have to have those supplies, and the schools can't supply everything. So so uh guys, um you are logistically um in charge of what we call the back to school. Um, and uh that is a pretty significant program. Talk a little bit about what that looks like, what it means, and how many children we're gonna try to see the community once again rally around to help those kids get ready to go back into school.
SPEAKER_02So we do an average we do an average about 400 per year, so that's what we're shooting for this year.
SPEAKER_03Shooting for 400 kids. Yes. Which means if there's sixty to sixty five kids staying at the Hope Center on average per night, we're talking about a lot of families out in the community as well.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03Uh-huh. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Uh so that that'll happen on August 5th.
unknownUh-huh.
SPEAKER_02And uh I think one of the most important things is just to get the kids started on a right foot, to get them, you know, with a new backpack and new stuff, you know, going to schools. It could be a tough thing for some kids uh and just get getting them on the right foot.
SPEAKER_03So why is it important to get them off on the right foot um uh when they go into that classroom? Um we've all been kids.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I think we have, yeah, we have. I almost have to do that. So we're past that. We're past that point.
SPEAKER_01I'm I'm closer to childhood than you are, Barry.
SPEAKER_03I'm closer to Jesus than you are.
SPEAKER_04Um Russell. Oh, that's beautiful.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so anyway, uh yeah, back to the subject matter. Um so why is it important for those kids to to walk into that classroom and and um not stand out as a poor kid or a homeless kid or whatever, Marcus?
SPEAKER_00Right. Um so I've been a kid. Yeah, yeah, I have been a kid. I'm closer to Jesus now too. So yeah, I've been a kid without uh with a struggling single mother and uh
Homelessness And Hope Center Realities
SPEAKER_00she couldn't afford the necessities we needed in our backpacks. Maybe it was a hand-me-down bag or something like that. But going in going into um your first day of school confused was really um really tough. So we're we're trying to do a sense of um preparedness. So that's the word I'm thinking of is being prepared and so the confusion is not there, so they're able to conquer that first day and the rest of the year. So um I I actually compare it to being excited when you get away your first pair of uh your new shoes for the first day. So if you got a bag that matches them shoes, then you're flying high.
SPEAKER_03So regardless where you're living.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, regard regardless where you're living. But uh to give them a sense of uh preparedness is is uh big deal for us.
SPEAKER_03So we talk about wanting the children of the Topeka Rescue Mission and many others in the community to be ready for that first day. It's not just about that first day, it's about the second day and the third day and the fourth day, and those supplies with Topeka Rescue Mission that will come in that are extra um help kids all year long, don't they? To get ready to come into school. Because some of these children uh maybe have been out of school for extended period of time. They get in the rescue mission, get connected with the schools, they go back into the school or they go into the school, and uh they need to be prepared. And this could be, you know, any time during the year. And so having those supplies on hand. So it's it's not just a one and done. It's an ongoing. So what when we talk about these supplies that we're gonna be asking the community to help out with, what are we talking about? What's what's kind of a list?
SPEAKER_02Um one of the main items we always need is backpacks. That's a that's a huge need, but any anything is appreciated, of course. Um, college rule, notebooks, uh any of the paper, pens, pencils, all that stuff is greatly appreciated.
SPEAKER_03And where could they find a list if they need to find a list?
SPEAKER_02Um the list is on TRM online, and we also have an Amazon wish list. And you can either order them on Amazon and just have them delivered, or you can do it the old school way and go shopping and drop them off, which a lot of people like to do. And you can drop those off at 401 North Norse Monday through Friday from 8 till 345 p.m.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So you uh mentioned that it's gonna kick off on August the fifth. That is a one-day deal, or is it gonna be multiple days? Um I think we're just doing one day, but we're doing a big day.
SPEAKER_02A big day. It'll be a long day, though. We do the morning and then the afternoon.
SPEAKER_03So So um you need supplies, and there's a way that people can find out what those supplies are. Um, but also you need some help, right? So um have you got all the help you need? Um the volunteers um to handle all these kids, families and all that?
SPEAKER_01No, we don't have all the help we need. We're gonna need more help. Okay. We always need help. We need help because we need to um get bags ready to go. We need to be organizing the supplies, we need to be having help um on the distribution day to get them out to people when they come by to get the items. So all of that's gonna be coming where there will be a volunteer sign-up uh for different duties for people because our distribution center, it never stops when we have additional events like this happening. So our distribution center, they're still going to all of the employees are picking up donations that we've received. They are doing completions of programs, they are doing the food distribution days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No. Um, so there will be some additional volunteer opportunities uh coming out for back to school. And people can find out about that how? They can go to our website at trmonline.org, and there is a volunteer section. Um, and Susie Pazley's information is on there. She's incredible. Um, I just was talking to Miriam and some friends yesterday, and I said, you know, I don't know if there's a competition for volunteer coordinators in the U.S., but I would put her up against any other volunteer coordinator. Um and I say all the time we shouldn't compete, but I'd put her out there. She's amazing. But anyways, people can get on there, look um up her information, and ask any questions about back to school as well.
SPEAKER_03Approximately how many volunteers would it take um to be able to do the 5th of August? Yeah, you know pre pre and during and then after.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're kind of probably looking at about a dozen um that we'll need sprinkled throughout, making them and then that day. Historically, uh we've done a multiple day distribution, um, and we've done that for a couple of years, but we've found pretty consistently that there were times each year uh that people did not come at all. Um and so in order to be a wise steward of volunteer times, but also our staffing time, we've chosen to go to one day and have specific time frames on it. Of course, if there's a conflict um, you know, within reason we're gonna work with people. So that's fine.
SPEAKER_03What could you for a person that's not done this before? And I know there's gonna be some people who go, I want to do it because I've done it before, what can they expect as a volunteer that they're going to experience? Uh, what are some of the duties? But what are what are what's the experience like?
SPEAKER_01You know, our team is really organized, and so the whole reason why we do this sign up ahead of time is so that then we can have printed sheets
Goal Of 400 Kids On August 5
SPEAKER_01for our volunteers or our staff, whoever is working the table, so that we know who is picking up the backpacks, how many backpacks are they picking up? Are they picking up a secondary backpack versus an elementary backpack, those kinds of things? And so we try to keep it as smooth and organized as possible. Um, it's a little too early to tell, uh, but there are times where um depending on other blessings we've received from the community, sometimes we're able to give out additional things that are beyond the supplies. I don't know if we'll have that this year. For instance, in years past, we've had people donate to us coloring books and extra things of markers that are kind of aside from the school supplies. So volunteers will either be um helping us fill the bags, get them all organized. They will be helping us making sure that we have the bags in the carts and stuff down there so that they're easily able to pull them when the people come. They might be working a table where they are marking off who's coming to get the bags, ensuring that they get the correct number of bags and it's the right bag. And then if we have additional things that we can bless these kiddos and their families on, then the volunteers can help coordinate that as well.
SPEAKER_03Sounds like it's a very busy time. It is uh but uh an impactful time. So we've talked about how people can find out what to help out with. Um they can go to the website, trmonline.org. They can also sign up to volunteer there. What about the people in the community? Obviously, families staying at Topeka Rescue Mission Hope Center are going to be contacted. But how can someone in the community who has children, school-aged children, know about the back to school, the Topeka Rescue Mission? How can they sign up?
SPEAKER_01Sure. Um so I'll talk about how they know, and then if you two want to discuss um how they sign up. So we started last month, actually, um, Scott and Marcus and Scott and John did two different segments about back to school, one on WIBW and then one on KST. Uh, we appreciate our media partners. They always um allow us a segment every month to be able to talk about the new things happening. So both of those links are out there. Um, and if you see it, whether it's on our page or on KSNT's page or WIBW, please share that because that helps spread the word. It gets it on some of the um parent pages, like there's Topeka kids pages and stuff that that can be shared too. So we've spread the word that way. Uh, we have the information on our social media as well, explaining this process. We have it on the website as well. Um, and we've had a couple of speaking events this past month where we have mentioned, hey, this is coming. Um, and then we also uh started putting it in our newsletter last month as well. So hopefully we are getting that information out there enough to where people, when they do see it, they can share it and spread it as well.
SPEAKER_03Okay, so you could get uh a lot of people requesting help um for their kids. Is there a cutoff deadline, guys? In other words, uh you're gonna distribute, distribute on the 5th. Is there a 5th of August? Is there gonna be a time that people have to get signed up in order to get help?
SPEAKER_02Uh I think like Lamanda said earlier, if there's people that didn't sign up, that we we could probably still help them if we we would work with maybe a few dozen or two dozen people. Okay, we could probably still assist them.
SPEAKER_03So what are you hoping for? Get signed up right now, can they start now or is there a start date? Um I I I think it started yesterday. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the job form went on yesterday, and I believe we've already had about 15 kids signed up.
SPEAKER_03So listeners of uh our community, our mission, if it is before the uh 5th of August, uh let people know. Uh you may be listening
Supplies Needed And Where To Drop
SPEAKER_03to this and you may have neighbors that need, maybe you're in need, or just maybe your church group or civic club or whatever place you work uh about this so that um children don't end up going to school um without um what they need. So let's talk about the Talk about impact here. Um, we um we've talked a little bit about uh Lamanda, your perspective on this, but what have you guys seen historically that happens with the recipients of of these items? Sometimes the children actually come themselves, sometimes the parents are just picking things up. But what's that like? It's got to be extremely busy. If you've got 400 kids you're trying to help out on that day, what what is that that general experience like?
SPEAKER_00I uh this position is new to me, but I've been to back to school giveaways and just to see the uh see that bag that the kid uh wants and the smile on their face is pretty much why we do this. And uh just that experience of making those kids happy and giving them what they want is uh very heartfelt.
SPEAKER_03Scott, this is a big uh this kind of doesn't d only fall on your shoulders um as director of distribution, but that's a big responsibility. And you're you've been working in distribution center for some years now. Right. Now you are the guy. So how does this feel that it's coming and how does that weight feel?
SPEAKER_02Um the weight's not too bad because I know I have a really good team with me that helps me in every area, um, not just with work, but with every every area of life. Uh uh just knowing God has our back is probably the most important thing though. And just know he's always there for us and we have to give it to him first.
SPEAKER_03You know, we say that and uh and we mean it, but there's been some times, um, like a lot, uh, Miriam, that that God's got our back, that it's like last minute, God's got our back.
SPEAKER_04I remember a story from a couple of years ago when we were doing the back to school thing and we were out of paper. And um the person that was kind of in charge at that time was saying, okay, do we need to go buy paper? Do we need to do this? Do we need to do this? But just kind of settled a little bit. And wouldn't you know? All of a sudden, in walks reams of the paper that we need. Right. And so God is just always that far ahead of us, right? And if we can just sit tight and not try to just jump immediately and give the Lord an opportunity, we always get what we need for the people that we need. Oh, well, we still do that a little bit. We still do that.
SPEAKER_03But you don't cancel. We don't cancel.
SPEAKER_04You don't cancel and you don't jump ahead of the Lord. Right? So you you let him let him work.
SPEAKER_03You mean jump ahead of the Lord and go out and use a credit card to buy stuff that you need to just wait for it to come in? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Which exactly, you know, that what I did. I mean, Holton and I, um, who used to be the director at the uh distribution center, we still laugh about it. I saw him a couple of months ago and he was like, Remember that time we went ahead and used um the donation dollars that we had, and and it was true. Make a long story short, he and I went back and forth the night before and we had a couple of items that we still didn't have and we waited until
Volunteers Needed And What To Expect
SPEAKER_01about 745, and we knew we had people coming at it was either 8.30 or 9, I can't remember. And I said, Um, I'm gonna leave it up to you. You do what you think we need to do, and I'll touch base with you in the morning. Um, but maybe the Lord is gonna come through in the morning. And Holton said, But what if the Lord is gonna come through, but not for this first round, and we don't have this. And and I laughed. So we prayed in 206. It was just me and him. We walked out, we were both so tired. The next morning by 5 a.m., I'm texting him and he said, Yeah, I couldn't do it. I went last night to the store at 10 30. And I said, Okay, I understand. We have to be prepared too. I kid you not, Barry. Whatever time it was, it was 30 minutes before that. And um we had someone pull up at 206 while we were trying to get everything together, and it was exactly the items that Holton went the night before and purchased. Um, and so I don't know, I think sometimes the Lord also has a sense of humor. Um, and and we can't, you know, you have to find a balance of having faith and knowing you can provide, but then you also have to walk in the wisdom to make sure that we are prepared and doing everything we need to do too. And that's just not always clear cut. It's not always easy.
SPEAKER_03What a great experience for people who uh are the um vehicle that brings in that donation that you've been praying for and God use them and for them to learn, wow, you guys really needed this, you know, it was like no big deal to them, but it's a really big deal to everybody else, and just to be um part of that whole system. That's not to say that if people want to give a financial donation towards back to school, that it's turned down because there will be some things that need to be purchased, right?
SPEAKER_01Correct. And and sometimes we see that is what comes in um at the last minute, too, right? What we feel is last minute, the Lord's perfect timing, but it doesn't feel that way to us. Um, but we see that we're always able to provide for people um with this event. It's just not on this beautiful timeline and everything's there and there's abundance and everything. It just doesn't look like that all the time. Um, and so it's also, I think, such a great opportunity for those of us who are working the event too, because I think the pressure we feel when you know kids are important, like it's a big deal. Um so we should this should be a focus of ours and it should be a priority and we should want to really do right by these kiddos. Um, I mean, we even see in scripture when um kids could have looked at could have been viewed as annoying or a nuisance or not priority or burdensome. That was not Jesus' response. And for him to be as important as he was, and he was literally the Messiah on a mission, and he had enough time for children and put such an emphasis on them being able to come to him, I think then it's our role here at the rescue mission to do this event with excellence. The other side of it is I don't think the Lord intends for us to feel these pressures in a way where we're doing it alone, because if children matter to him thousands of years ago, uh the children of Shawnee County mean to just as much to him today. So it's neat to be able to be a part of that. You know, I hope um just as kind of part of the team here, one of the things I hope about this event too is that it serves as, you know, Barry, I've heard you mention a lot of times about um so often societies, um, for whatever reason, one way reason or the other, we're always in the stream and we're trying to, you know, pull people out of the stream. Um and there's been a lot of times because of your mentorship with me that I'm trying to also we're in the stream, we're in the trenches, we're pulling people out, we don't want anything to drown, yet we're also trying to be as leaders, visionary and strategic, and how can we go upstream and change things at the stream so people don't fall in, right? And I do feel like our back to school event is a way that we are putting up a gate. We're we're putting up a fence around the stream. Um, and that can be looked at in a a lot of ways. It could be proactive. So, what Marcus described of confusion, feeling less, seeing other kids be prepared and that kid's not, this is a proactive way that we are standing in the gap to avoid that. Because of this event, because of the donors giving money, because of um partnerships and donations of supplies and all of that, there are going to be 400
Upstream Impact, Faith, And Provision
SPEAKER_01plus kids that don't feel the way Marcus described. That's proactive. That's upstream, that's us putting up a fence, right? Nobody's gonna fall in in that way. The other thing is, although we can't uh dictate someone's intentions or what they do, this is definitely a proactive way that if somebody is saving one to two hundred dollars on supplies and sometimes one to two hundred dollars per kid, that is one to two hundred dollars that's in their pockets for that water bill, that electric bill when we're all struggling with it right now in July and August. Um, that's a way to have extra food. That's a way um to now, if they're doing that, that kiddo may be able to have the $60 sneakers from Kohl's or whatever the case may be. So um I hope donors or volunteers or just curious people of the rescue mission right now hear this that this is an event that actually we see the children, we see the fruit right there. They're so excited to get it. We see that mom or dad who don't bring the kids in because he or she wants to be able to surprise them when they get home from daycares and all these things. It's beautiful. Yet what we don't see is actually what donors and volunteers are making possible upstream, and that there is a lot of hurt and harm, loneliness, and all of this blocked because of this event and that kids won't experience because of the generosity.
SPEAKER_03Well, I think we all can think back just a little bit about um first day of school is an exciting time and a scary time. It can be a positive experience or a very negative experience. And if you walk into a classroom and you don't have what you need, and other kids kids do, that's a negative experience. And so trying to alleviate that, I've told this story several times, but I want to tell it again. I think it's appropriate. Um got a letter one time from a lady who had volunteered at the rescue mission. It was um during the point in time count, and um she uh was very excited about what she got to do, and she asked if she could uh volunteer here with her two daughters. And so it was a nice letter. Um and so I was compelled to call her because she had a telephone number, so I called her and I said, Hey, uh, how old are your kids? Want to make sure this works out for your kids? And she told me the ages of her daughters. They were still pretty young. And uh I said, What um what is your motivation for wanting to bring your daughters in here? She said to me, and she was an executive of an insurance company here in Topeka. And she said, I want them to understand the place that helped me when I was a kid. And I said, When you were a kid? And she said, Yeah, I stayed. And this was before Hope Center was built. And I said, What do you remember about that? She said, Well, I remember it was a tough time for my mom and my sister and me. She said, I don't remember much about the Topeka Rescue Mission because I was very young. She said, But I do remember that there was a chair and a bed in my room with my mom and my sister. And I remember it was Christmas time and there was a Santa Claus. Santa Claus actually came to visit us at the Topeka Rescue Mission. And then she said, and I remember smiles on people's faces, and even though it was a hard time, it was an important time for me. This little thing back to school can have a profound impact on here is an individual who experienced homelessness as a child, but now she's an executive insurance company and trying to pass it along to her kids. And so uh we don't get to hear about all those kind of things from kids who grow grow up, but we get to see it on their faces. Um you as a contributor, a volunteer, you get to be a part of a bigger story here that um is going upstream, uh trying to help people not fall into the river as you were talking about, Lamanda. Um other than uh I got a question for Miriam. Um so Merriam, um, have you seen in your time here at the rescue mission, which has been some years now? It has been. Have you seen any uh big chief tablets and the big pencils and crayons come in like when you were a kid?
SPEAKER_04No, I I do not see those big giant pencils anymore. Big chief maybe tablets. Do they still have those? I think so. I read about those. Yeah. Listen to that. As something that you wished you'd had at as a kid. Is that it? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Those were big, weren't they? They were huge erasers.
SPEAKER_04And like a little hand can barely hold them.
SPEAKER_03It took a whole hand or two hands to that's that's why my writing is so terrible today. I know.
SPEAKER_04Because you had to try to hold that pencil.
SPEAKER_03Thank you for Siri. But anyway, well, hey, thank you guys uh for what you do. Um, this is such an important thing. In the midst of everything else that you do, with people who are staying at the rescue mission and feeding in the community, helping with uh map uh today, another thing, feeding, volunteers, clothing, on and on and on. People are such so blessed. The food distribution on Tuesday and Thursday is out of the distribution center. Nothing stops at the Topeka Rescue Mission, then they do this too, and that's just uh an amazing effort. And uh is there anything else you want to say before we uh close off today?
SPEAKER_01Um I think I just want to thank people. Um we've already had um a couple of financial donations come in for back to school items um that we can utilize. Uh we've already had some partnerships in the community that either don't do an event like this um or had additional things that they could help us with because they knew we were gonna have such a big one. Um so we want to thank them for being able to partner with us. Uh just thanking the volunteers who I mean, Barry, we have some volunteers at the distribution center that they work as much that they could be full-time employees and have done it for years. Um, and so yeah, I just thank the volunteers that we have um just loyalty that that serve throughout the whole mission, but particularly at the distribution center, that then allows us to um do the food distribution days, the completions of programs, the walk-up needs that happen, um, accepting donations when community members drop things off. So yeah, I one of the things that I'm really working on is um uh on my own personal journey is am I always focused on the need or am I focused on the gratitude knowing that the Lord through this community is going to meet the need? And that is sometimes a lopsided thing on my part, where I'm constantly worried about just so much here. But at any given time, when you just walk through the halls or you look at all of the there's 20 cars at the distribution center and we only have seven employees, and you just have this moment of gratitude to think, I'm not even sure every volunteer that's in there, but I know there's a lot and they're making things happen on behalf of other people. Or I go and I drive by the main shelter and I see that there's people um backed up at the kitchen because they are dropping off food donations. Um, or just yesterday, I appreciate our good friend and brother Richard Martinez with Street Team Ministries, who uh knew there was an outreach out. And so he reached out to me and said, Hey, if I can get a team out going and handing out waters and checking on people, can you supply the ice and everything for our coolers? Absolutely. What is ours is is yours. And so contacted our food service to make sure ice chests were or our ice maker was working and full and all that. They said, Yep, tell him to come get it. He went, filled up all of this stuff. And so there's just a lot of need around the rescue mission, but there's a lot of opportunities too, if we just slow
Gratitude, Thanks, And How To Join
SPEAKER_01down to um experience gratitude and express it because there's also a lot of incredible organizations and individuals that are um doing the unthinkable and sometimes the unseen, uh, but definitely is the Lord's work.
SPEAKER_03Well said. And uh if you are the blessing, thank you. Um if you aren't the blessing yet, you have an opportunity uh to do that. So you can bring the kids back in the room now uh because we're done talking about that thing. And uh and so, but it's gonna be exciting. And and kids uh uh enjoy the rest of your summer if you are listening to this. Uh the school is coming up again, uh, not as fast as your parents might want, but it's coming and it's gonna be good. And uh thank you all for being a part of our community, our mission. If you'd like more information about the Topeka Rescue Mission, you can go to TRMonline.org. That's TRM Online dot or G. There you can find out all kinds of information about the Ministry of Topeka Rescue Mission as well as how to be involved in back to school. Thanks for listening.