Deb Feick of Granger introduced 122 of her friends to the members of Dallas County Area Retired School Personnel Association (DCARSPA) at a recent meeting.
Her 10-dozen friends just happen to be homeless.
Feick is the founder of Team Tough, a mission that provides support to the homeless in Des Moines. She and her Team Tough partners go out every Saturday in Clifford the Big Red Van to serve meals and tend to other needs in the homeless community in the metro.
The mission started as a way to get meals to those on the streets who were hungry, and the outreach now includes many other items. Since many of the homeless people adopt pets who have been abandoned near their camp, Team Tough now also provides pet food.
Toiletries, hand warmers, batteries, over the counter medicines and hand sanitizer are just some of the items Feick stocks in Clifford. Each year as the winter approaches, donated backpacks are distributed, filled with blankets, socks, mittens, gloves and hats.
Feick’s team tries to provide holiday meals that are anticipated as a taste of home, with pie at Thanksgiving and plates of cookies at Christmas being in high demand. Although the people she serves are homeless, Feick assured the DCARSPA members that they are not just lying around in an entitlement hammock.
“They have to work hard just to survive,” she told her listeners.
Donations of food and other items are always welcomed, Feick said. For more information, call at 515-229-9570.
Sue Leslie is the secretary of the Dallas County Area Retired School Personnel Association.
