Southern Hospitality Project

4 years ago, the Soap For Hope Project (now Southern Hospitality Project) was featured in a newspaper in Albany, GA. We made front page, above the fold and were absolutely stoked!!! I think we still have that paper! The project would go on to be featured on WALB, the local news station, Pretoria Fields Radio and WALG 1590 am, Retro 102.1fm in Sylvester, Ga., Early County Times newspaper, The Post Searchlight out of Bainbridge, Canvas Rebel Magazine in California and 2 magazines in S. Carolina who's names I can't recall at this second.

We're super excited to be able to evolve and continue the project in our new home, Lansing, Mi.

Tuesday, a homeless man gave me flowers.
Except he's not just "a homeless man." He's Ryan. And he's our friend.

We've known Ryan for a while now. We've fed him, checked on him, sat and talked with him. He's also the same man we found lying on the sidewalk one day and called 911 because we knew he needed help.

Tuesday afternoon, I saw him while we were out. My window was down, so I leaned out to holler hello to him and hand him a couple of bucks. Then Ryan started digging around in his backpack.

And pulled out flowers.

For me. 🥹

Y'all, this man carries everything he owns with him. He doesn't know where he's sleeping every night. A couple dollars means a hell of a lot more to him than it does to me. And he gave me flowers.

I don't know where they came from. I don't know if he'd been saving them for someone. I just know that in that moment, he wanted me to have them. And dang if that didn't get me.

We started the Southern Hospitality Project because we wanted people living on the streets to know that somebody sees them. That somebody cares. That they're still human beings worthy of kindness, conversation, dignity and friendship. But somewhere along the way, some of them became our friends.

Ryan isn't a project. He's our friend. And my friend gave me flowers. ❤️

WE’RE LOOKING FOR A COUPLE OF ITEMS!

*An upright freezer — in working condition
*Insulated beverage dispensers — the larger kind that will keep coffee and hot chocolate hot while we’re serving

If you have either of these sitting around collecting dust, or you know someone who might be willing to donate one, please send us a message! We’d love to put them to good use helping us serve our community. Even if you don’t have anything to donate, sharing this post could help it reach the person who does.

Thank y’all so much!

7 more Cheese and 7 more Pepperoni pizzas went out, today. I feel it is important to note that today's meal was made possible by two very special people: Our Birthday Girl and a generous friend who baked a giant batch of homemade cookies! (and even included an ingredient list for folks who have allergies)!!!

We recruited help from our one of our daughters and her friend, Ari. While Blondie is a veteran at this stuff, Ari is a rookie, and found the work to be fun and rewarding, and said it gave her a new look at the members of the community. Overall, she said it was a rewarding experience and is excited to jump in and help, again!

And!!! This may be the best part of all!!!

Some of you may remember the posts about our friend, Alabama. Well, today we ran into our friend for the first time in months, and we couldn't be more excited with what we have learned. He walked, yes, walked, up to us while we were at the library!!! He said that a friend of his got him to a hospital to have his feet cared for. He has been keeping up with the care, and looks amazing and it was really good to see him in such a positive state. We will continue to keep Alabama and the others in our prayers, as always, as they are definitely working.

Thank you sooo much for your support. Great things are possible because of it!

I’m sitting here trying to figure out how to put this into words, and I’m not sure I can. Today, someone donated $1,000 to the Southern Hospitality Project.

One! Thousand! Dollars!

But honestly, the amount isn’t even the part that has me emotional. IT'S HER BIRTHDAY!!!!!
She could have spent that money on herself. She could have taken a trip, bought herself something nice, gone out and celebrated.

Instead, she decided that for her birthday, she wanted to do something special for other people. She chose people she may never meet.
People sleeping outside. People who are hungry. People who are cold. People who sometimes feel like the whole world walks right past them without even seeing them. And she trusted us to turn her birthday gift into food, warmth, hygiene items, supplies, and little pieces of dignity and kindness for the people we meet. I don’t think I can adequately explain what that means to me.

When we started the Southern Hospitality Project, we didn’t have some huge organization behind us. We just saw people who needed help and decided to help however we could.

One meal.
One bottle of water.
One care package.
One conversation.
One human being at a time.

And then people like her come along and remind me just how much good still exists in this world. That $1,000 isn't just $1,000. It’s meals. It’s coats when the Michigan cold starts creeping in. It’s clean socks and hygiene products. It’s supplies handed to someone who has very little. It’s somebody realizing that a complete stranger cared enough about them to help. And maybe most importantly, it’s someone being reminded that they haven't been forgotten.

To the beautiful human who chose to spend her birthday giving to others, I hope you know what you just did. Your birthday will now become meals eaten by people who were hungry. Warmth for people who were cold. Comfort for people having some of the hardest days of their lives. Pieces of your kindness are going to be scattered all over this community.

I can’t think of a more beautiful way to celebrate another year of life. Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for believing in what we’re doing. And thank you for reminding me that there are some truly incredible humans walking around in this world.

Happy birthday. ❤️

You gave us a gift today, but there are a whole lot of people who are going to feel it.

This is what community looks like.

— Southern Hospitality Project ❤️

We're keeping this amazing human anonymous, but y'all help us wish her a very Happy Birthday!

We cashed in the returnables y'all donated, and walked away with a good bit of cash. We weren't real sure what the weather was going to do, so at the last minute, we decided to throw a Pizza Party!!! We've got 7 pizzas, a whole box of snacks and crackers and a couple cases of water. Let the Pizza Fun Begin!!!

Thanks to all your wonderful donations, we were able to feed 40 meals yesterday! Never seen so many people that happy to eat spaghetti!

Sometimes, our efforts include days like these. We found one of our friends laying on the sidewalk at a very busy intersection. He was barely breathing and wasn't sweating, even though he's in the direct sunlight and its over 80 degrees. We tried to rouse him, to know avail, so we called an ambulance for him. He was unresponsive through them checking his pupils, taking his pulse and shaking him, but popped right up (Thank God) the second they went to pick him up to load him on the stretcher. He seemed a little confused and disoriented but thankfully agreed to be seen. Ugh. This is the second time we've had to call an ambulance this summer, and it shakes us having to do this, but at the end of the day, this is why we're out here. Its not always food or blankets or personal care items, sometimes its about making sure someone has another chance at a better tomorrow. Prayers for a speedy recovery, Mr. Ryan.

Today, Southern Hospitality Project handed out chicken pasta salad, fresh fruit cups, peanut butter crackers or chips, a choice of an orange, apple, or banana, and ice-cold bottled water.

People hear the word "homeless" and sometimes picture a stereotype. Today we saw people.

A dad walked out of the shelter with his three children, probably between 8 and 12 years old, just hoping to get something to eat. The tears were flowing when I got back to the truck.

We met a man who had started a new job on Sunday. He's working to rebuild his life one day at a time.

Another man had just been released from the hospital. His prescription bag was lying beside him. Staples were still in his head. His hospital wristband was still on his arm.

Then we met a man who slipped on black ice months ago and broke his leg. He never received the medical treatment he truly needed, and now he's trying to survive while living with that injury.

Those are just the stories we heard today. Every person we met had a story. Some shared theirs. Some didn't have to.

It never feels like enough. A meal can't fix everything. But for a little while, someone didn't have to wonder where their next meal was coming from. Someone felt seen. Someone was treated with kindness and dignity.

None of this would have been possible without every single person who donated. Whether you gave money, food, fruit, snacks, bottled water, or simply shared our posts, you were part of every meal we handed out today. You made a difference in someone's day, and for that, we are so incredibly grateful.

If today reminded me of anything, it's this: homelessness isn't one story. It's hundreds of stories. And every single one deserves compassion.

Please don't stop caring.