Let's be honest. We all like our “stuff” and spend lots of money buying stuff, upgrading our stuff, getting more stuff, collecting our stuff, strutting our stuff, and wanting more stuff.
It's not that ODW is against stuff but we are for generosity. What if we all took some time to examine the “excess” we have in our lives and chose to sell some of our stuff so that others who are living in extreme poverty may simply have an opportunity for the “other stuff” we take for granted such as water, education, medicine, food, etc.
Here's one story of someone that chose to sell her “excess” that inspired us.
Melissa P. lives in Seattle, Washington (USA). She was inspired by the vision of ODW and in response, sold her motorcycle and gave all the proceeds to ODW. We recently asked her a few questions:
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live and what do you do?
I live in Seattle with my roommates and my dog. I am a speech therapist working at a school. I dance, read, and bike in my spare time.
Why did you choose to join the movement of ODW?
I believed in the mission and message. I wanted to do my part.
You sold your motorcycle to help support ODW. Why did you choose to do that?
I wanted to support ODW in a tangible way. I was considering things in my life that I could give, and I realized that my motorcycle (which I loved when I was riding her!) was sitting idle. The motorcycle was part of the “excess” that I kept just so that I could have it, not because I needed it or was using it. It seemed better to sell it for the cause, so that I was both giving up unnecessary things, and supporting a cause I believed in. I told people interested in buying it what I was doing, so they could learn about ODW too!
Thanks Melissa for your generosity. Learning of your story reminded us of this quote:
Generosity is what keeps the things I own from owning me.
Perhaps it's time for all of us to plan for an upcoming Spring garage sale? 🙂
If you're interested in hosting events (house parties, garage sales, concerts) to benefit the work of One Day's Wages, email us at office@seattlequest.org. 100% of all donations go to projects to alleviate extreme global poverty.