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LIBERTY GOLF CARS
P-Nut Krenek
Committed to
the Community
2004 - 2007
SONNY LOFTIN MEMORIAL
HOST/SPONSOR
2004
US OPEN
CORPORATE SPONSOR
2004 - 2007
MARDIS GRAS OPEN
SPONSOR
2004 - 2007
BROWNING/BRILEY
SPONSOR
2005 - 2007
DIAMOND CLASSIC
SPONSOR
2006 & 2007
TEXAS ZONE SHOOT
SPONSOR
2007
TEXAS STATE OPEN
SPONSOR
2007
TEXAS STATE SHOOT
SPONSOR
2007
BELLARD RACING--JR. NHRA
CORPORATE SPONSOR
2008
US OPEN
CORPORATE SPONSOR |
Sonny
Loftin Memorial Tournament
Where does the money go?
View Scores ;
View Photos
by Linda Mann
The goal of Friends In Deed is to help
indigent children. Our children are referred to us by teachers and school
staff who see them daily and are therefore able to identify the very
needy. Most of our children are not just poor, they border on being
destitute. I thought I knew what poverty was but until I became involved
with Friends In Deed I had no idea that some children live in
little more than a “lean to” and have no electricity or water. I didn’t
realize that parents could be so heartless as to just walk out on a child
and leave them with a friend or relative. We have children who are loved
and children who have been discarded. It breaks my heart when a child is
asked what he wants for Christmas and his response is a pair of shoes. We
give these children clothing and shoes so that they can look like the
other children and school supplies so they can have what they need to
learn like the other children and their lives are changed. We clothe
them, give them confidence and the knowledge that others care about them.
Friends In Deed has a “back to
school” distribution just before school starts. The children are given
three pairs of pants, three shirts, undies, toiletries, socks, shoes, a
bible, back packs and school supplies. Our other distribution is in March
where the children are given three sets of spring clothing and a new pair
of shoes. We continue throughout the year to get additional children and
they are provided with everything at the time they are referred to us. We
have always had a Christmas distribution of a coat blanket and food basket
but for the past two years we have had an especially awesome Christmas
party made possible by many volunteers and the donation of some really
generous Santa’s. Some very sharing people donate and prepare cookies,
hot dogs and soft drinks. In addition to what was given on previous
Christmases the children also receive a special gift along with gifts for
their brothers and sisters as well. Santa is at the party along with many
other surprise guests. It is a night of miracles and a wonderful sight to
behold and we are so grateful to all who make it possible.
Below are a few stories I would like to
share with you about some of the children.
The first time I saw Daniel was at our
Friends In Deed Christmas distribution where we were giving the
children coats, blankets and food baskets. He came into the Parish Hall
with his grandmother. Daniel was the size of my 4 year old grandson. He
had on an old coat that was much too large for him and appeared to have
one of his arms pulled out of the sleeve. He and his grandmother
approached me and I asked his name and surprisingly found, when I checked
my list, that he was 7 years old and in the second grade. His big brown
eyes were magnified by thick glasses as I asked him if he would like to
come with me to pick out a new coat. We walked together to the rack that
held the smaller size coats and his eyes lit up when he saw a blue one. I
said “Let’s try it on” as I began to slip his old coat from his
shoulders. Then came a defining moment in my life. Daniel’s right arm was
not there. Here before me stood a child that radiated love like I’ve
never felt before in spite of his missing arm, his vision and his small
size. As I slipped the new coat on him, his small arm slipped around my
waist in a grateful hug. That’s when I knew that God had me in the right
place and was leading me to where I needed to be.
Tara and Alexis are sisters attending elementary
school. They have been in our program for two years. When I spoke with
their mother regarding our back to school distribution she told me that
her husband had recently found a job and they would not need our help
anymore. She went on to tell me how much the assistance that Friends
In Deed provided during their difficult time to her girls as well as
she and her husband She said that now that they were able she wanted to
donate to Friends In Deed so that they could help others as they
had been helped.
Matthew’s (age 12) story is
heartbreaking. He lived with his mother, who worked at Sonic, and they
lived in a local motel known for its drug activity. In April, with the
assistance of the schools, letters were sent to the parents requesting
their children’s sizes. Matthew’s was not returned. I phoned the school
and explained that we had not received a response from Matthew’s mom and
asked if he had moved or possibly was no longer in need of our help. She
told me that Matthew’s mother had left him and he was living with his teen
aged sister and her boyfriend in this “drug motel”. I was horrified at
the thought of the circumstances this child was living in, horrified at
what he was seeing, and horrified at the thought of what he might be
doing. I called the motel and was told by the desk clerk “We don’t let
those people stay here anymore”. I checked the other two low-priced
motels in town and could not find him. After several days of searching, I
found that Matthew, his sister and her boyfriend had lived in the woods
for a while but were now staying with friends. We provided the clothes
and school supplies he needed and contacted a person with big heart who
helped arrange the return of Matthew’s mom and provided housing for both
of them.
While asking a middle school
boy that was new to the program his sizes I also asked what he might like
to have as a Christmas gift. His answer was shoes. Can you imagine!! In
this world of plenty there is a child who doesn’t ask for a toy but rather
nothing more than a pair of shoes. Our Friends In Deed children
receive shoes just before school starts and again in the spring. He was
thrilled over the pair of shoes he received that day and will receive
another pair, along with a toy, for Christmas! I asked a grandmother who
was raising her young grandson what he might want for Christmas. Her
answer was some “D” batteries so that he could play with a game his aunt
had given him last Christmas.
I recently received a phone
call from the elementary school. They had enrolled a new little girl with
a size 3 foot who had only a men’s size 10 shoe to wear. She had new
shoes as well as clothes and school supplies before the school day was
over.
We have many children with
many different stories. Some are loved and some have been discarded. My
heart breaks over and over again as I work with them. Two years ago I
made up my mind that I would stop volunteering. I had been working with
these children for three years and thought I “had done my share” and would
resign at the January meeting. I planned to continue to make donations
but I would leave the heartache of seeing these children and knowing their
stories behind. Just before Christmas a good and generous man phoned me
saying he had a donation check for Friends in Deed and asked that I
come by his office to pick it up. When I came in he handed me a check.
The amount on it would not even register in my mind. Where were my
glasses? Suffice it to say it was a very generous and greatly need
donation however the check came with a condition. He said “As long as you
keep doing this I will donate this money to the children, but when you
quit so will I”. How can I quit if it takes anything away from the
children? So the moral of this story is that God, once again, has me
where he wants me and I’m learning what He wants me to learn and doing
what God and Peanut want me to do.
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