Salutations Everyone!

It’s me, Sabi…I just wanted to share something with you guys; something that made me feel so blessed to live in the community that I live in (Montreal, Canada)…

Last week Thursday, I received a message from the founder of the OFC; he was telling me that there was a single-mother who is having a hard time feeding her child, and he asked if there was anything that I could do…I felt helpless, because honestly, the only money we have, in the name of our organization, is the money for our book bursaries, and I was unexpectedly laid off, so my money is tight as well…With this being said, I told him that I’m not sure how I could help…It bothered me so much… It broke my heart to know that someone was in need, and I couldn’t help.

The next morning, I woke up, with this young lady heavy on my heart… Then I thought about how supportive the people in my life have been in the past, so I decided to ask my friends on Facebook for help:

And what happened after this brought tears to my eyes…Within minutes, people were emailing their contributions…People wanted to find out more about this young lady, because they wanted to do more for her… I contacted Pharaoh (OFC founder), and asked him how I could find out more about her; he then told me that Wizzy from MBI radio is the one that reached out to him, and that he would be able to give me more information… I reached out to him, to find out more…After speaking to him, I came to find out that not only was this a single-mother, but she was a college student and an athlete, and she was already signed up on The SHO Network! So you could imagine, that my heart broke even more…

I contacted her to find out more about what was going on, and this is what she told me…She lives with her grandmother, along with many other people… She works nights (in addition to going to school and being an athlete), and her and her mother are the only ones who are employed… By the time she gets home from work, because there are so many people in the home, there is no food left for her. :'(

I thought to myself: “We really have to do something…” So I continued to ask around for people’s help.

In total, I was able to collect $310 from the people in my community… With this money, I purchased two $150 VISA gift cards. In addition to this, I bought BOOST (meal replacement) and enough vitamins to last her for about 6 months.

Also, the chef at One-Stop Catering (Carl) agreed that he would cook a week’s worth of food for her; so I bought plastic containers, I will drop them off for the chef, and he will be separating meals into these containers for her. I asked Carl how much he would charge me for this, and he said “No charge…” How amazing is that?!

People are thanking me, and applauding me for this, but I played such a small role in all of this…By myself, I was helpless, but when we all stood together, as a community, we were able to make a positive impact on someone else’s life…Additionally, we have to face an alarming reality… Yes, it’s nice to send money to organizations who are raising money for less-fortunate people in 3rd world countries, BUT, there are people in our own community who need our help; can we take care of our own first, please? We need to understand that when we support our community, this contributes to the amelioration of our community; If we support those in need, we ultimately build a stronger community.

I would like to take the time to acknowledge the people that stepped up and contributed towards the purchase of the gift cards:

1. Amika Brown (#LadiesUnited)
2. Aaisha Lewis
3. Valerie Allen (Luxurious Mane)
4. Soraya Bellini
5. Trisha Wellman
6. Erica Edwards
7. “Tia Sweet”
8. Jinelle Mitchell
9. Kimberly Cumberbatch
10. Nicole Demetris
11. Keith Solomon
12. Vanessa Brown
13. Kelsey Walker
14. Shoshanna Carey
15. Mitchell Tonner
16. Alia Villafana
17. Nandi Cox
18. Fatima Wilson (Salah’s Steelpan Academy)
19. Nia’s Boutique
20. Gloria Hinkson (VP of The SHO)
21. Sabi Hinkson (President of The SHO)
22. Osmond Williams (Digital Movements Sound)

And of course, I would like to thank Pharaoh and Wizzy for reaching out to us to help this young lady.

I met up with her today, at her school, to give her what I have received thus far…She is such a beautiful young lady: beautiful smile, soft-spoken, humble and grateful. She deserved the gift that she got and then some…

It is not too late to help her out; if you would like to make a donation to this young lady, I will see to it that she gets it…We are “adopting” this young lady for the holidays! I hope to make this the best holiday season that she has ever experienced!

If you live in Canada, and would like to make an e-transfer, you can email it to: info@stronghinkson.org

If you are outside of Canada, you can send your contribution through our PayPal account by clicking here: https://goo.gl/zXSAEe

(Please make sure that you state what the donation is for: to help this young lady and her child for the holidays.)