I’ve never truly thought of what it would be like to be homeless.

My world was rocked and it all started this morning with a retweet from a friend.

I had just previously posted this tweet.

I complain about the cold all winter long. The darkness of winter depresses me. The cold makes me miserable. Then I find myself looking at real estate in warmer climates or pining for a tropical vacation. I spend too much time not being thankful for the roof over my head, the clothes in my closet, and the warmth of a loving family.

How do I shift perspective? How do I start being thankful and bless others who are less fortunate?

The answer seemed simple. A donation to the homeless.

It started with a jar and a label….

The rules:

• $1 donation every time the daytime high is colder than -15 C
• $1 donation every time I complain about the cold and/or snow

My oldest daughter will be in charge of looking up the temperature every day.

At the end of the winter we will donate the funds to our local homeless shelter.

I’m wondering if you will join me? Every time I make a deposit to my jar I will tweet #cashforthecold. I would love it if you would join, support, and/or encourage me in this journey to be more thankful and appreciative during this Alberta winter.

I would love it if you would start your own Cash for the Cold jar. Want your own #cashforthecold label? You can download yours {HERE}.

UPDATE: December 7, 2013

Since it’s been so cold, I have decided to donate the funds I collect at the end of every month, that way my donations can immediately help the homeless. As of December 7, 2013, $5.15 has gone into the Cash for the Cold jar. $5 from me and $0.15 from my oldest daughter (she was concerned by the cold weather and decided to make a donation of $0.15 from the $0.25 she recently received from her Nana). I will update monthly to share how much we collected.

UPDATE: December 10, 2013

I just realized that I said we would donate our funds to our local homeless shelter. However, we have decided to split the funds raised among a few different agencies which help the homeless (even those that aren’t directly shelters).

UPDATE: August 26, 2014

Eeek, I can’t believe I didn’t post my final numbers yet! I collected $92.20 for Cash for the Cold. $20 was a contribution from a friend, some miscellaneous change was donated by my daughter, and the rest was all my (and the weather’s doing). I rounded the amount up to $100 and donated to 4 agencies that help the homeless.

UPDATE: NOVEMBER 23, 2015

As I grumbled about our first major snowfall, I was reminded of this project. I will be doing this again this year… I hope you’ll join me! I’ll still use the hashtag, #cashforthecold

UPDATE: MAY 2, 2016

It was such a mild winter, I barely grumbled (and the temperatures didn’t drop too much). We made a $32 contribution.

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photo credit: Roxane Clediere via Unsplash

Jennifer Bly

Author of My Kitchen, My Classroom: An Introduction to Homeschool and creator of The Deliberate Mom. Jennifer writes about parenting, homeschooling, her faith, and life with her husband and two girls. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Applied Human Service Administration Degree with a specialization in Early Learning in Child Care.