Steady Growth

​What do you tell a person, whose fiancé has been in a serious crash resulting in brain damage and they no longer remember the person they are set to marry?  How do you help a 15 year old whose father has tragically died in a fire and they have shut down in despair? What resource is there for a family whose only daughter has overdosed and the friends riding in her car with her, discards her body in a trash can and continues to drive her car around?  Is there anything 

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you can do when you find out that the beds children are on are infested with bedbugs and the parents can’t afford to buy new ones? These were the real life examples of people that L.I.F.T. R&R reached out to, to provide resources and referrals to.  The hard grappling real life experiences that showed us that traumatic events, broken hearts and impoverished people were right in our midst and didn’t know where to turn for help.  We were able to provide such free resources as griefshare.org, bedstart.org, Camp Erin, and write letters to people discouraged, pray for and provide encouraging words for those in desperate need of help.

L.I.F.T. R&R started in 2015 with the vision of becoming a one stop shop for two groups of people, Non Profit Organizations offering low or no cost services to people in need and the people who need those services.  Our approach has been unique as we bridge the gap between those that have the services and those who need the services.  We promote and interview the organizations at no charge. All Free. As a new non-profit receiving our 501C3 in October 2019, we immediately knew we wanted to make a difference and wondered what we could do to give back to the community by the end of the year. Our team reached out to McKinney Rehabilitation Nursing Home and asked what the needs of the seniors were there, it was determined that a lot of them have been left behind by family who would normally provide a lot of the basic needs such as socks, under garments, shampoo, razors for shaving and we knew we could help lighten this load and we sprang into action. In December 2019 we collected enough items to make all 93 seniors Christmas baskets with a minimum of 12 items in each of their baskets, including things that they could enjoy, we put on a play that had them rolling in laughter. The director said she had never seen them so engaged as we sang songs like Santa Baby and All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth, with props and impromptu’s we had an amazing time, next my husband whose from Kenya collected donated clothing and flew to Kenya along with 2 filled suitcases of clothing and donated them to children living in the villages.  
We are now planning our 1st Annual event called “Another Man’s Treasure scheduled for 10/24 in McKinney Texas where people that have new or gently used items ranging from household goods to furniture, will donate those items and people that are in need will be referred by other agencies to come shopping on us! No cost for any items, No Yard Sale, just being a blessing to those that do not have from those that do have.  As the saying goes one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  I personally experienced the need for a dining room table and after 3 weeks of looking for an affordable practical table my neighbor asked if I could use a dining room table, a leg was a little wobbly and a couple of nicks but it was perfect for us. My husband painted the nicks and tightened the chairs and just like that something someone planned to throw away became exactly what we needed.  This is the premise of “Another Man’s Treasure” in action. We will be 1 year old in September, we have built our website www.liftrandr.org  and our FaceBook page L.I.F.T. R&R where we post non-profit organizations and events that help the community, we have been approved by Collin County probation department as a community service agency and have helped almost 20 people complete community service hours virtually, we have spoken as key note speakers at North Texas Goodwill Annual Banquet, Shiloh, Getting Ahead and Grace Like Rain, giving back and teaching others financial literacy and sharing resources.  Our Board is elated to be part of touching the community in tangible ways. Physically, emotionally and spiritually as we pray for those who are in need that God will download creative ideas and open doors that we may be a blessing to others.  We are looking forward to the Growth in 2021!

Graciously written by Rolanda Greer, who is currently employed with Bank of America management for 19 years, Serving on Texas Workforce Solutions Board Member for 6 years, the founder of L.I.F.T. R&R, a member of Aleph 2 Omega, Mother Grandmother and wife. I enjoy serving the community with our board members.  

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