Confrontation at Walmart

Sometimes you don't know what you can do until you try. This weekend we held a Diaper Drive for Birthright of Cicero at our Noblesville Walmart. Kevin and I set up a couple of tables and we had about 500 flyers to hand out. Our hope was that as people entered the store they would accept a flyer and then consider purchasing some diapers or wipes and then donate them to Birthright.

When I setup my table all I had were a few flyers and a blank table. As people were passing me by my over-analyzing mind was on overdrive. All I could think is "How are we going to make this work?" We had to stay out of the main flow of traffic, and we didn't want to be obnoxious, but it's not like anyone was going to just stop at our table and pickup the flyers. Isaiah and I both wondered if anyone would take a flyer about diapers from two old men. :)

I am not a salesman, and the last thing I want to do is bother someone. But I knew something was going to have to change if this was going to be effective. Thankfully the rest of the team started using their gifts. The older girls made some fantastic looking posters. Anna purchased some diapers for the tables. Wendy took the flyers and did what I should have been doing - she just simply, politely, handed them out to everyone who would take one.

Why am I so afraid of bothering someone?

Some people politely refused the flyers, and some looked the other way or started talking on their cell phone or even just looked down at the concrete - anything they could do to avoid eye contact. It appears I wasn't the only one concerned with confrontation at Walmart.

After the team got in gear, so did I. I started handing out flyers to just about anyone coming through the doors. And when we saw the people who were actually giving, we realized this - we couldn't predict who would give. We needed to present the opportunity to everyone.

It was interesting just taking note of who was actually giving. There were a few men who gave. Big, strong, burly men. One person who appeared to have very little, went and brought back some change to donate to our cause. They only gave a small amount, but because they gave we now had a place for cash donations. That later resulted in a bunch of diapers and wipes. The little kids even got in the game, handing out flyers and holding up signs.

We ended up with 72 packages of diapers. 3,269 diapers to be exact. We also ended up with 52 packages of wipes. I'd say we came pretty close to $1000 dollars worth of items for Birthright. I'm so thankful for our team and I'm excited to see what God can do with this small band of believers.

Cross Posted at The Heights Blog