Name: Shannon Hickey Home: Pennsylvania, USA
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on Christopher Closeup Read our News Note on Giving from the Heart
How Shannon makes a difference:At age 11, Shannon wanted to do something to honor the memory of Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., who was killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The fallen firefighter chaplain had been a close family friend. She decided to collect socks and distribute them to the homeless at Fr. Judge’s church of St. Francis of Assisi in New York City. And so “Mychal’s Message” – the non-profit organization she founded with her mom and grandmother – was born. Today, the list of items handed-out has grown to include other basic necessities like coats, shoes, toiletries and disposable baby diapers; they also have outreach programs aimed at educating youth about homelessness. We at The Christophers learned about Shannon’s work through her mom, Kelly Ann Lynch, who wrote a children’s book called He Said Yes about Fr. Mychal’s life. Proceeds from the book are benefiting Mychal’s Message. On the death of her friend and inspiration, Fr. Mychal Judge:“In every ending, there’s a beginning… Everything happens for a reason and I just decided to go look for that reason.” On her initial reaction to working with the homeless:
“Honestly, I was very scared. I didn’t know what to expect. I was just so used to my little house in Pennsylvania. When we got to the street (in New York City) it was all these homeless men and women lined up… once we got on line, every single fear I had literally just disappeared… I realized they were really just like me; it’s just different circumstances that got them to where they are now.”
On small gestures of kindness:
“When you look at them on the street, they’re just sitting there with their heads down. But if you just go up to them and say one word to them, like “good morning” – all of a sudden their head comes up and their entire face brightens up… I never realized that saying “good morning’ to someone can really make somebody’s day.”
On being positive:
“Attitude will make or break your situation… someone who goes into it with a positive attitude will get so much more from the experience than someone who goes into it with a negative attitude.”
On acknowledging the poor:
“I talked to one (homeless) man once and he said, “I can’t believe you talked to me.” And I was like, “Why?” And he was like, “Do you know no one has acknowledged me… everybody walks past me on the street; everybody acts like I’m not there so they don’t have to bother, so they don’t have to think about it.”
On her faith:
“Going through this, meeting these (homeless) people, has truly just made me realize… how God works through me… it has strengthened my faith so much.”
On lighting one candle:
“I didn’t start out by thinking I could change the world… I am a really big believer in the fact that any single act of kindness will make a difference in one person’s life… and that is all I’ve really wanted to do, make one difference in one person’s life.”
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