The Opportunity House

The Opportunity House, here in Vacaville, California, had their first annual craft bazaar this past weekend, December 13, 2014. While this was not the most successful craft bazaar, I would do it again in a heartbeat! The purpose of this craft bazaar was to give the clients of the Opportunity House an opportunity to sell their crafts to earn Christmas money.

I met two phenomenal ladies, whom I will call Asia and Wendy. Wendy had some cards for sale and Asia had some wreaths she had made. The outlook on life these two women have is just phenomenal! They greeted everyone who came in that they knew with a hug, a smile, and a thank you for being here. Totally amazing! They were also very conscientious of the time as they each had jobs to get to, Asia working two jobs and Wendy working one job ... how often have we dreaded going to work? These ladies look forward to it! We could all learn a lot from just watching and interacting with them.

The Opportunity House has a motto - It All Starts With an Address. The new shelter was built within the past couple of years, through the hard work and dedication of many volunteers. You can find them here: http://www.opportunityhouse.us/. They also have a Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vacavilles-Opportunity-House/125173278111. To go along with their local shelter, they run a secondhand store, which you can find here: http://opportunityhouse.us/thrift-store.php.

That is just some background and a bit of my experience. I 100% support the Opportunity House here in town and their efforts. Not only do they help people get back on their feet, but they do NOT "abandon" their clients who move on into transitional housing. I cannot say enough about this shelter and here is just one reason why ... this is above and beyond!

I don't know when he walked in, but all of a sudden I heard a man talking on the phone. I believe he was from the mid-west. He was in need of a place to stay. T, the lady who was in charge that day, did all she could for him. She offered him lunch; it was provided in a heartbeat. She was then trying to figure out how to get him to Mission Solano in Fairfield, California. She knew nothing of the bus system here. A random person said that her mom worked for the transit system and she'd call her to get the information. She went outside and made her call. After, T was on the phone to Mission Solano doing her best to find out how to get this man where he needed to be. He had no money. While, honesty here, I was sitting there thinking I should give this man some money, I really should (for whatever reason I just am not that bold, but I should be!), T said - "B give me my envelope." Ohmigosh! Out of her own pocket, T, gave this man the money he needed to get him where he needed to be. To me, this is an overwhelming act of kindness that was done without question, without expectation. Maybe, lunch and enough money to get to Mission Solano aren't all that much in the whole scheme of things, but to this man on that day they were everything.

When I saw this Leo Buscaglia quote floating around yesterday, I knew it was appropriate for the story I am sharing.

I am certain that T's unselfish act has helped restore this man's faith in humanity and has helped to get him on the right track once again.