HOUSTON — Black Friday is behind us. Cyber Monday is over. Now it’s time for Giving Tuesday, which started in 2012. It’s a way to give back and Toni Lomax is thankful for it.
She and her roommates rely on donated food. Lomax is retired and struggles to make ends meet.
“I’m used to working and I’m not working now,” she said. “I’m used to having food and I don’t have it now. My income has changed so I have less than I had before.”
That’s why she takes advantage of every opportunity she can to ride the bus from Alief to the west side of town to visit the West Houston Assistance Ministries. More than 90% of the food in their pantry comes from the Houston Food Bank.
“When I come, I always feel wanted,” Lomax said. “I always feel relaxed and just like not afraid. A lot of people are afraid to ask for help.”
Giving comes in many forms.
You can donate to an organization like the Houston Food Bank. They're calling it Giving Food Day and every donation has three times the impact. That means for every $1 donated, they can feed nine families.
There are lots of ways to give back. You can do something as simple as leaving quarters at a laundromat, picking up trash around your neighborhood or paying for the next person in the drive-thru.