What Six Westsiders Can Do

Recently, Kalil White, Director of Operations for The Bottom, one of Westside's regular Justice and Generosity partners, led a workshop for a group of Westsiders on how to dismantle our internalized racism and white supremacy. This was a powerful gathering, and we will be sharing more about it in an upcoming worship service. Westside has been working with The Bottom for a couple of years now, learning about their programs, supporting them financially and in other material ways, and committing ourselves to staying engaged with their excellent work.

Westsider Judy W. submitted this short piece about a recent 'investment' Westsiders made in a great program hosted by The Bottom, their LitKidz Literacy Project. (www.thebottomknox.com/litkidz)

Here's Judy's description of how a few folks can make a big difference.

So one day, one Westsider said to another, "I wish I could sponsor a kid in The Bottom's LitKidz program, but $240 is too much for my budget." The second Westsider said, "That's a great program. A child gets one free book a month for a year, but on Social Security I can't spend $240. either. Maybe we can create a pool so others can jump in with us." Four more people said, "Yes, I'll dive in." Then the practical one of the six said, "We can't just say, 'I'm in,' we have to actually collect hard cash, and mail it to The Bottom." So five Westsiders trusted the fisherman with their actual cash, and USPS took it to The Bottom book store.

Who would have guessed that six Westsiders would overfill the pond with $480, enough for not just one, but two LitKidz.