Thank you ...MooseJaw!

Big thank you to Moosejaw for the donation of 100 hand warmers for our upcoming backpacking event Sunday December 11!

thanks Eli!!! xox

EVERYONE please DO THIS!!!!!!!!

help Burners without Borders Detroit help the homeless this would be great to win.. make a guess!!! please please please and thanks ..PS..dont forget to like there page!!!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150462245956147&set=a.486077666146.296735.61046571146&type=3&theater

Homeless Backpacking event

Hello everyone!!

Tis the season...and Burners without Borders Detroit needs YOUR help to help others..

WHAT: Homeless Backpacking event

WHEN: Sunday December 11, from 1 to 4pm

WHERE: Hamtramck Senior Plaza (thank you Chris Cornwell for donating the space again this year)

WHY: because without people like YOU the Homeless Backpack Project simply can not happen!

WHY2: Because WE are fortunate enough to be able to help others.

We have about 200 backpacks (from a generous donation from the Guilliom Foundation) to fill with canned food, can openers (must have those!), hand warmers, peanut butter packs,ponchos, socks, gloves, hats, hygiene products and whatever else we get donated!

Please note we have had amazing cash donations this year as noted above and from two artists from the DAMNED Exhibition; Atelier Gothique (http://www.facebook.com/gothique1) and MI view (http://www.facebook.com/pages/MI-point-of-View/115162725163871)

All of which have afforded BWB Detroit to have enough supplies for 200 backpacks..that is 2x as many as we did last year! 200 packs is ambitious but we think we can do it!

Thank you also to Justin's Nut Butter and MooseJaw for donations of peanut butter and hand warmers!...and to all the private donations of hats, gloves, socks, food, water and juice boxes to make all of this possible..

The packing will take place at the Senior Citizens Housing Complex and Henry Ford Health Center on Holbrook in Hamtramck. You will have to be buzzed in by security!

If you have items to donate please bring them..we can always use them

You are are welcome to take Back packs with them if they feel comfortable approaching homeless, if not i will get them all out on the streets.

I look forward to mingling with you as we create the backpacks and form new friendships!

If you are not able to make the event...please promote it and Burners without Borders Detroit or....

if you cant make it..please consider making a tax deductible donation to BWB Detroit at http://blackrockarts.in-merch.com/catalog.php?act=view_prod&i&l&sid&id_categ=5486 choose Detroit on the pull down tab!

Thank you ..

Danielle ~doxie Kaltz
Burners without Borders Detroit
detroit@burnerswithoutborders.org
http://littledsworld.blogspot.com/

Check out Burners without Borders Detroit on facebook...'like' us

Thank you again Soup at Spaulding!!!

Burners without Borders Detroit would again this year like to thank the great folks at Soup at Spaulding for inviting us to present again.

Our hosts the wonderful and lovely Anthony and Allison Guilliom set up a wonderful event. Though not many people turned out ...it matters not...if 2 people show up..you and another and you connect and have a good time..then to me its a success.

we had more than that and i was able to be the only presenter and share what BWB Detroit does and was honored to do so!

Thank you so much for the donations to purchase more items for the backpacks!

~d

Justins Nut Butters...thank you soo much!!

Burners without Borders Detroit would like to send out a big thank you to Justin's Nut Butter for their generous donation of 300 almond maple butter single serving packs to be added to this years backpacks for the homeless!!!

I wrote them a letter asking for help and i was stunning and pleased they wrote back in my in such a short time..like an hour..no joke and agreed to make the wonderful donation.

We are so happy that they will be in available for our next backpacking event on Sunday, December 11th in Hamtramck at the Henry Ford Senior Citizen Center on Holbrooke from 1 to 4pm..more details to follow!

~d

Another stop at Soup for Spaulding

Burners without Borders Detroit was asked to present at Soup at Spaulding next Thursday November 10 at 7pm for Burners without Borders Detroit. Please come out and share a meal and support which ever cause you choose! thank you for another opportunity.



here is the blog about our last and wonderful visit; http://littledsworld.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html

Hand warmer donations!!

Moose Jaw is donating a few boxes of hand warmers to BWB Detroit! thank you Nick Papcun for the intro!


Thank you MooseJaw!!

Thank you to ATELIER GOTHIQUE at the DAMNED exhibition.

BWB Detroit is so grateful to Charles and Amy Elias of Atelier Gothique who donated the stunning ring that was raffled off at the DAMNED this past weekend as a prize with the proceeds to benefit BWB Detroit.

Over $600 has been donated to Burners without Borders Detroit

Congratulations to the winner David Cagle...We hope you are as happy as we are.


Please know all the donations go toward direct action on the streets to help homeless.

Thank you to the Devil Girls who sold over 300 tickets to participants of the event;

your all angels..i mean..oh you get it!



Lushes Lamoan (http://www.facebook.com/lushes.lamoan),

Sarah Schropp- (http://www.facebook.com/it.burns.us) ,

Angie Smith (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=665375855) ,

Alison Haling (http://www.facebook.com/tasteslikea1) ,

Lyndsay Martin (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=515283476),

Jessica Grassa (http://www.facebook.com/jgrassa) and

Meridith Lorde(http://www.facebook.com/MeridithLorde) )

DAMNED donation

JoJo Smedo sold his entry at the Damned!!!!!! The money from the sale is going straight to Burners without Borders Detroit to help provide food and warmth the homeless in Detroit :)

you can view the image here; http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=307126915967450&set=a.274262952587180.85770.115162725163871&type=3&theater

we are very thankful to you for all you do!

MI point of view...

From Jojo Smedo- introducing a limited edition print 12" x 24"..(total of 10, signed and numbered); price is $200 with $100 from each print going to Burners without Borders Detroit to help feed and warm the homeless in Detroit- http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=308329445847197&set=a.274262952587180.85770.115162725163871&type=3&theater


Thank you JoJo for your thoughtfulness!!

random help from strangers

Thank you to Rachel Timlin and City of Farmington Hills - Special Services Dept (parks and rec) for collecting for the homeless!!

Rachel heard about the project and asked her co-workers to start collecting! Next week i meet with her to get the items which she says are plentiful.

Her co-workers also want to knwo when the next backpacking event will be so they can attend...it will be in early December..more details to come!

thank you!

new backpacks!!

5 cases of Backpacks were delivered this week to Detroit via a generous grant for Burners without Borders Detroit from Anthony Guilliom and family...thank you so much..your gift will help so many people this winter! small deep bow! xo~d

Satori Circus, Naked girls and the homeless!

I am writing about a wacky ass fund raising project for BWB in Detroit.. a handful of local artists and performers got together and created a calendar for Satori Circus 2012 with proceeds to support BWB-Detroit’s backpack project.

These calendars are for purchase.

If you want to help support the cause let me know and we can do paypal or snail mail and I can get one out to you.

Please know that this winter is expected to be colder than last and its estimated more people are on the streets. So help in whatever form you can offer is greatly appreciated.

There will be a back packing event next month..stay tuned for details.

Thank you
Burners without Borders Detroit,

~d

Here is a snippet on the project;

http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=5088
and a full press release;
http://www.facebook.com/notes/satori-circus/for-immedaite-release-satori-circus-and-the-cirquettes-2012-calendar/10150326186944777

Drink and Stitch

Thanks again to Teal and her sister (who i call Purple cuz she wears it so much)for knitting a ton of hats to be put in backpacks for the homeless!

People packing backpacks this weekend were impressed by your work and the mother of the bride was inspired to go back to her church in Arizona and introduce this idea to their knitting circle.

I told her i suspected they would not drink...she said oh not beer but they love their wine!! Perfect!

~d

The Bots Wedding and amazing gifts!

This past Sunday my friend Jo got married Ray in Hart Plaza at the base of the Gateway to Freedom statue. They did so to honor the memory of many slaves who found freedom at the international waters of Detroit..a city they met in and fell in love.

They came in from out of state a few days early and invited many guests..they made Detroit a destination wedding! And they did this in a variety of ways, but why do i bother to tell you that on this blog you may be wondering.

well keep reading..One of those ways was to give a bus tour from 9am to 4pm of the city they love..and this was not a popular location tour...no instead it was places they loved and enjoyed. They showed no ruin porn, but places with wonderful stories.

Two of those places were the Artist Village and the Motor City Java House were they had activities arranged for their guests to participate in if they so wished.

One of those activities was to pack backpacks for the homeless of Detroit. I arrived there with Rosey and we set up an assembly line of items to people to pack into the bags. Shawn showed up with awesome hygiene packs he made from items donated from hotels by the airport!!

Just over 30 packs were made and are ready for the streets and we are so grateful to each and every guest of Jo & Rays who took the time to help out.
We are humbled and amazed at both Jo & Ray for even thinking of making a part of their visit to Detroit and more so as a part of their ceremony. It shows so much about who they are and the couple they are going to be.

Thank you so much..small bows and deep love!

~d

Occupy Detroit and the homeless in Detroit

This is a really good blog about someones experience with the homeless while they were at Occupy Detroit.

It made me happy to hear it esp as i heard stories about assaults this weekend and no one could tell me if they were by homeless, on the homeless or otherwise. No one could tell me about a sexual assault either, just that they heard about it.

I wrote a response to this blog in the comments. My only wish is that the writer had not listed the locations of the homeless. I work to keep that information private esp. if they are tucked away.

But please take a moment to read this...

http://leavesintheforest.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-detroit-getting-schooled.html?m=1#comment-form

homeless is my address, not my name

Christopher Breedlove who helps run Chicago Burners Without Borders brought me article from Minnesota on his last visit there.

It's entitled "Homeless is my address, not my name- an oral history of homelessness in Minnesota" its a project including photographers and interviewers doing story collection throughout the state to bring a name and face to this very serious issue.

Read more about it here and how they did the project here

a quote for the projects page is very thought provoking; "First person narratives by people living in poverty are often undervalued, as is all too common with experiences of marginalized people."

This is why this project is so touching to me and why i have for long not wanted people to photograph what i do, but seeing this project makes me realize it can be done in a touching and caring way. Thank you CB for showing me this.

Soup at Spaulding..and the mars bar.

Soup at Spaulding


I was lucky enough to have Soup at Spaulding contact me and ask me to present for the homeless project.

I was able to present on Thursday December 2, 2010 and I was so happy so many amazing people showed up; Faith, Ro and Rachael., Nick and Jess, Dondo, Vicky, Ken and Babs, Anthony and his son Max, Harry R, Chrissie and Garrett, Tuka, Chris and Kim Castell, Tom Nordane and his wife and a bunch more I didn’t know and some faces i recognized from the first time i went.

I knew I had 3 minutes to prep speak and so the day before I wrote up my little speech I had recited it Breedlove and Faith and felt confident it sounded good though a little worried I may get teared up.

Dinner started at 7pm…a lovely squash soup and salad with Avalon bread and hot tea. At 8 is when the people there to pitch there cause are presented to the audience.

Well the person who was supposed to present with me didn’t show up..so I got to pitch mine alone. Which is a weird feeling I must admit, cuz your like well I guess I win by default and well I hope people don’t feel gipped they don’t get a choice. But then I found out. that it didn’t mean I won automatically as anyone had the option to vote to have the money roll over to the next week. So..the competition was on…oi!

This is what I had prepared so I was allowed to read it cuz normally you are not allowed to have anything with you but they figured it was ok…


Hi! Thanks for coming and supporting this awesome event for Spaulding Court! Thank you for allowing me to present! I am honored and humbled to be here.

My name is doxie or danielle….. and I would like to talk about the Back Pack Project for the homeless I am involved in where items are given directly to the people on the streets.

4 years ago I started to see homeless under the bridges on the highways in Detroit and it made me realize I had too much stuff, don’t we all. So I started to fill my car with blankets and food and my clothes and my dads clothes I still had ..then I would stop and take items to the people who I started to call highway men. I soon ran out of stuff so I started to ask friends and family for donations and their stuff and now I bug anyone and everyone! (all eyes on you!).


In 2008 I started a chapter of Burners without Borders- a civic arm of Burning Man that helps where we see a need in our communities …I see that need in Detroit with the homeless.

Then when Ro asked her family 2 yrs ago to give her stuff to help me instead of xmas gifts she created backpacks full of items she was given- how Selfless and genius! I love you!

Now after asking people on the streets what They need we fill more & more packs with things like; hats, gloves, socks and socks and socks, hand warmers, canned protein (fish, meat beans) and veggies, and can openers of course- along with soft granola bars, (imagine no teeth- food needs to be soft) juice and water…then we tie blankets to the bags with scarves.

Then I hit the streets and look for people who don’t go to shelters for whatever reason and there are many! I also keep clothes and coats in my car too to give out if people need them. I am not trying to get anyone off the streets I don’t have that skill set. I am just trying to help out anyone I can with a backpack filled with supplies, compassion and non-judgment to make a night on the streets a little easier.

I blog about most of my adventures so people can see what happens to the donations they give me. …and here is where I hope you can help me in any way you can Because I can NOT do what I do without the help of people like YOU!


Thank you.



And of course I cried my eyes out…I should not have looked at Ro but I did and I dropped my box. I told the audience I am very attached to this project and sometimes I get that that can be not a great thing.

Then I tried to sit down but I was called back up for questions which I had planted Faith and Ro with one each in case I forgot what to say but since I read from my sheet I was ok..

Well then Harry asked me a question about other ways I raise money…which lead to me getting embarrassed and talking about the Dirty Show and how I raise money there!!
And I got to answer about 3 or 4 more questions then people were allowed to vote.

I am happy to say the vote was unanimous and everyone elected to support the homeless cause! I was very pleased. I then told everyone that a bunch of us were going over to the Mars Bar in Hamtramck and to met us for drinks.

It was a good night… and I got to talk to the owner and he told me any time I would like to use his place to just ask…I told him he had no idea what he just got himself into!!

As I was looking up something today I saw this post someone put on Yelp about the Mars Bar from the evening. I met the guy…and I am glad he had a good time!




One review for The Mars Bar
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-mars-bar-hamtramck

Teal and Purple

so just this afternoon...Teal from Bay City who came to the backpacking party earlier this month with her sister who's name i can not recall but started calling her purple cuz she was wearing a ton of it that day..

so today Teal hit me up and i knew she might as she was staying with Ro (and Rachael) in Corktown after going to Santarchy. She had contacted me earlier in the week to tell me she had a load of clothes for me...and a bunch of hats.

now these are not just any old hats...no no... teal and sister and niece have been crocheting hats and and i guess fingerless gloves and gave me a big back full of them.

Purple told me it takes no time at all.. she can make the fingerless gloves in an hour and a half...yes she makes it sound that easy... i told her i am very impressed and in no way no how could i even start to do the art she makes look so easy.


I told them both thank you very much and that i will look forward to giving out these hand made with love donations!

Erin is a HERO!

So last year Erin McClain found me..not even really sure how she did to be honest..but I think it had to do with Burners without Borders Detroit on the Facebook page.

It has been a pleasure communicated with her ever since…this year in January she showed up late to the Back packing event in my basement but it was a pleasure to meet her and her husband Craig when they did…they came with supplies too and left with full backpacks to distribute on the streets. I was happy she took some cuz she was one of the few who did as I don’t pressure people to hit the streets but encourage them if they do.

This month she was at Backpacking event on time and again with Craig and she brought her friend Carrie who works with and organization called HERO. She had been telling me about Carrie for some time so it was nice to meet her and she had about 8 packs with her to contribute to the cause.


What Carrie does with HERO is this as she wrote me in a facebook message;

Hi Danielle! I'm happy to help with what I can. HERO is the Homeless Empowerment Relationship Organization. I actually work for the collections company for HERO's clothing and shoe donation program. We have the black boxes all over southeastern Michigan. Their main focus is helping to "empower" the homeless through workshops and classes. All furniture that is given to HERO is used to help furnish housing for those coming through the programs. HERO works through MAP - Michigan Ability Partners and is also the clothing distributor for Michigan Prisoner Release program. I'll probably only have about 10 backpacks to add to the mix for this year - but will plan to collect them for next year! Thank you for doing such great work in the community!!! If I can't make it to do the packing - I'll make sure that Erin has the donations :-)



--
How wonderful is that? Erin made a wonderful connection for BWB Detroit and I am so thankful. I look forward to how Carrie told me she could possibly overwhelm me next year with backpacks…I asked her to try!!

Both of these ladies are now my hero's!