Take last week for example. One of my co-workers tried to take a few cans of soup home, which is against the rules. These cans were going into the garbage because they were part of an open pack, but nonetheless, policy says no taking of food of any kind from the warehouse. This employee was suspended as a result. Here's the kicker: he's homeless. I found out since this happened that he lives in a trailer in a junkyard with no water or electricity and all he has to live off of is the money he earns (or should I say earned) during his 12 to 18 hrs a week at work. My heart aches for him and even though I know that the choice was his and he knew better, I can't help but feel that some things in life just aren't fair.
Or this afternoon. I set up all the paperwork for tomorrow and had two extra people, due to a couple demos being cancelled and such. I had to call off two people, one of whom I know is in dire financial straights. I wanted to cry when I picked up the phone because I knew that this shift I was canceling for her could be the difference between whether or not she eats.
Another employee's wife came in this weekend and asked me to please give her husband more hours. The thing is, I can't. He's not a very good seller so he doesn't get scheduled very many shifts and last minute shifts, where many people pick up the majority of hours, are out for him because his phone has been disconnected and he has no car. My hands are tied.
One of my crew came in this morning and the first thing she said was that she was so embarrassed because she lost her bottom plate. I had no idea what she was talking about until she opened her mouth and showed me that most of her bottom teeth were missing. I had no idea she wore dentures. She's can't be older than 50. Now mind you this is the woman who I had to call off Saturday because her demo was canceled (not the one I called off for tomorrow :(.) and she too is strapped for cash. I don't know if she has any type of dental insurance through a spouse or what not, but I would be surprised. She did her entire demo today with her head hung low in shame, barely speaking. I didn't have the heart to tell her she had to talk. For one day, I let it slide, poor woman.
I mentioned once when I first started that I was working to pay for preschool and gymnastics and have since decided that this is a fact I will keep to myself. I don't need to advertise the fact that my world is so vastly different from that of the people I work with every day. I pray and I cry and I hope that somehow, in some way, I can touch the lives of those I work with in a positive way, to somehow bring a little hope and happiness into some pretty tough situations. And when I want to complain that my body hurts or that I'm out of spending money, I remind myself that it could be much, much worse.
3 comments:
I know that God gave you this job for a reason. The people you write about are the working poor, so often trivialized by the media, but so very real.
Can you make a positive change for them? Maybe. Is there a policy that open cases can be put in a pool for employees to apply for? Or could the food be donated to local charities? You could suggest it and pursue it. Maybe it could be a mission for your church to pursue and encourage all grocery stores to participate in gleaning food from their garbage.
It is hard to work with people who have dire needs, just remember that you can't save them all. If you can assist just one person you've done something wonderful.
And yes, counting your blessings is always a good idea.
Love,
Judy
One of the nice changes that has come from the situation involving the "theft" of soup is that we are now donating to a local church. YAY! You should have heard the sighs of relief when I mentioned that to my crew this weekend :-).
I think that's horrible that they throw away food like that when so many people could use it. My mom use to demo at Costco and she'd take (or rather sneak) the leftovers home. She couldn't see the purpose of throwing away perfectly good steaks and other items. It's heart wrenching to hear about people who have nothing.
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