Shoe & Clothing Donation Makes Huge Difference for “Tiny” Man
Heidi Flynn (right) with “Tiny”
By Heidi Flynn, Arvada Stake Media Specialist
This incredible story comes from my work with Mission Arvada of The Rising Church, a day shelter that feeds the hungry twice a day (75 clients daily).
The mission provides many resources from food and showers to assisting with obtaining state IDs and driver’s license provisions and to the Stout Street Mobile Clinic with weekly services of medical care to those in need. Case workers work with clients to connect them with SSID (Supplemental Security Income) benefits, housing, in-house professional counseling and spiritual mentoring— always invoking the spirit of the Lord and kind counseling and prayer with those who come.
Sister Raquel Walsh from the Arvada Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I are weekly volunteers and primarily work with incoming donations. I work with outside organizations to garner donations we have immediate needs for. Often, those efforts serve the mission as a whole, but this experience gave us an opportunity to serve the “one.”
“Tiny”, a 7’1” client of Mission Arvada struggles with homelessness, but also to find clothing. My heart melted when I saw this gentle giant trying to be inconspicuous while spending mental energy on how to blend in while holding up his pants that were several sizes too big and held in place by his hands and rope. Add to the dilemma a need for size 17 shoes to fit his feet. Numerous calls for donations brought us back to square one with no help. Most places wouldn’t donate, and special order sizing with one retailer offered a “deal”— buy 2, and they’d be discounted to $188 a piece!
Other registered volunteers and sisters of the Arvada 6th Ward, Nedra Cox and Heather Stratton, immediately jumped onboard and combined resources — Nedra made purchases of some clothing and Heather provided sewing skills to modify for fit. Raquel came up with the idea that we see if maybe the Denver Nuggets basketball team players had a resource for clothing and shoes.
I contacted Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the owner of the Nuggets, for help. Alex Page with KSE responded almost immediately saying he’d do his best to help. Within a few days, he’d gathered clothing a few of the tallest Nuggets basketball team players had worn only one evening for an event! I was able to not only pick up several pants and shirts (which fit beautifully!) but Alex was thrilled to call me a few weeks later with a size 16 pair of shoes for Tiny! They miraculously fit him and he was so grateful to have shoes (he’d been squishing into size 14’s).
Tiny was so grateful, he couldn’t stop thanking us for the help and the clothing. He explained that he couldn’t shower and maintain hygiene because he had no clothes to wear while showering and that laundering wasn’t an option either.
The first thing he did was shower, throw away his old clothes, don the new ones provided through KSE and he left beaming! Now, ironically, he’s dressed in clothing most sports fans would envy!
Having an opportunity to focus on just one individual for the moment among so many in need reminded me of how Jesus loves all of us. We are uniquely known, deeply loved and never forgotten.
#UpliftColorado
