Giving Back, A Blanket At A Time

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - There are a lot of North Texans needing shelter from the cold weather tonight.  For some people in Fort Worth, though, they have a special kind of warmth to share.

Most of the volunteers at the Salvation Army were focused inside hours after Thursday's cold front hit. But Rushanda Money and the mission of compassion church knew their calling was outside.

"I see them out there. I know they're cold. I know they're sleeping on the ground. And, you don't understand what its like to be homeless until you're homeless. I came out of a battered women's shelter. I have been in a shelter before, so I know some of the things that go on."

Money hands out blankets thrown away by a hospital. Money cleaned them and bagged them in backpacks.

She and fellow church members had no idea they'd hand them out on the heels of an icy cold front.

"I'm feeling like we're fulfilling the needs of what god would have us do right now to help the people be warm."

Skip Watson was very thankful for the help. "After the three weeks we had this is the best blessing we've ever had."

The timing for handing out the blankets couldn't have been better. The ladies couldn't have guessed the cold front was coming. But they did know that sometimes a blanket is more than just a blanket.

Money says it's "the warmth. The love that they can share together. To wrap up in the blanket. Not just 'she is homeless.' Not just 'he is homeless.' But they're homeless together. It's very important, no matter how you're homeless, but you stay together as a family." 

And that's an unexpected warmth that people can be thankful for.

Money and her fellow church members say they plan to hand out more blankets for Christmas.