Simple Requests

The simple requests are carefully printed on ornaments hung on trees around the Greater Houston area.

A young family about to have a baby is asking for newborn-sized clothes, diapers and, if possible, a crib mobile.

A 9-year-old girl in a suburb needs a warm coat and would love to “maybe have a bicycle.”

A 14-year-old boy asks for a new pair of blue jeans, a sweatshirt and, if possible, some art supplies. A teen mother would like a warm coat and tennis shoes that fit her, post-pregnancy.

An 89-year-old woman is asking for warm socks and a new bottle of hand lotion, while another man is hoping for an air humidifier and large-print crossword puzzle books.

These requests, which are typical of those distributed around the holidays by thousands of non-profit organizations nationwide, illustrate a harsh reality – that while this down economy has been trying for almost everyone, our youngest and oldest Americans continue to be the most vulnerable.

Pitching in to fill such individual requests is certainly important – not just during the holidays but throughout the year.

But bigger questions also beg to be answered: How do children and adults end up living in extreme poverty? What systemic changes do we need to see in order to ensure that fewer people are in need in the future? What actions can we take – professionally and personally – to ensure that some of these changes happen?