Happy May First Bridge and Beyond

Whew........made it through the month of April and the A-Z challenge.  It took some doing to come up with something for each letter of the alphabet that had something to do with homeless and or what we do here on Bridge and Beyond.  I visited 253 blogs (as of the April 26th when this scheduled post was written).  That is the number from the linky.  Every blog I visited I read the post and left a comment except those that were closed to comments, had to join google+ and a few things like that.  Then I visited those folks in my right sidebar almost daily so no clue how many visits that comes out to.  Currently that blog log is 24 blogs, though the number wasn't consistent.  As soon as someone visited and left comments, I added them to the blog log...so it grew, I visited them back, but after several visits if they didn't visit back I removed them from the linky love blog log list...so it shrank.  Am in need of going through and nixing a few more so it's a current list.

 I also visited everyone on my regular blog list at least twice during the month of April, also in hopes of reciprocal visits which didn't really happen.  Many on that list no longer blog, haven't updated in several years etc.  The 2nd time through I deleted quite a few of those links as well as dead links.  I liked having folks on their that had donated, but they've moved on and inactive links actually hurt Bridge and Beyond with regard to SEO, so I felt it was time to clean that list up.

Next up I visited everyone listed with profile pages, ie Ravelry and or Facebook and left private messages trying to encourage blog visits.  That proved not to be worthwhile.  As stated in the paragraph above, many of those pages aren't current.  I will be over the next week re-visited and deleted those inactive links as well.

And...that brings us to today, May 1st.  Nice way to start the new month with this pretty donation from our good friend Sandie P from Louisiana.  Please click to see the picture better so you can see the details in her darling hat.  I LOVE this hat.  It's stylish and quite warm as it has ear flaps.  Sandie what pattern did you use for this?

As always, please keep up the good work Sandie!

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179+1=180
Scarves 67+1=68
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 63
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 7
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted

We're still having very cool nights with frost, and temps some days still hover around 50-60, so it's still not warm, if you don't have a good roof over your head.  Please keep knitting and crocheting, the need still exists.

**If you missed any of the A-Z Challenge posts, please please do stop and read them. And it's still not to late to leave comments folks.   My hope is to further educate people about what it's like to be homeless, to better understand the nature of this sad situation.  The more we know, the better chance we have of helping.  I also desperately want to dispel the notion that it couldn't happen to you and your loved ones.

A=Afghans, Family Heirlooms
B= Bridge and Beyond, Behind the Scenes
C=What is Crochet
D=Donations
E=Exposure Kills Homeless Vet
F= Crying and Homeless and Freezing Temperature
G= Gubbio, A Homeless Project, St. Boniface Church
H=Hobo and Homelessness
I= Inspiration
J= What is Joy
K=Knitting
L=Knitting Looms
M=Mittens, Knitted, Crocheted or Loomed
N=Caring for the Needy
O=Jack Otis, Classmate, Homeless
P=Policing the Homeless
Q=Quilting Can Warm Those in Need
R=Helping Homeless with Rain Poncho's and Recycling
S=Shelter Living and the Homeless
T=Tent Cities for Homeless
U=Living Under the Underpasses
V=Homeless Veterans, Rest in Peace
W=Water in Doorways, Sprays Homeless
X=Xenophobia
Y=Yarn Helps Homeless
Z=Finding Zen


All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.