Still coming together, but not on schedule! Argh!!

Me again.

I hate it when the phrase "too good to be true" strikes. And while the Underwear Drive is still on (no way they're stopping me!), there has been a delay in the shipment.

After my renewed excitement and optimism yesterday, I found out today that the shipment will be delayed before it arrives in Vancouver. :-(

Somehow, the container the ginch are in fell between the bureaucratic cracks in Shanghai, and has been sitting on their docks for a few weeks. Now they've found it and it's on its way, but there's no way the container will land in time to stick to our original schedule. (The earliest it will arrive is May 12.)

So I am revising the dates of my trip, and will let you know when I have them sorted out again. This started out as a Christmas charity project in 2008, so I want to be sure it happens before Christmas 2009.

What is that quote about adversity? Here it is, found it online. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” (Henry Ford)

So here I go, nose into the wind. Sometimes the only way you can take these events is with a grain of philosophy ...

It's all coming together!

Hey gang,

Had lunch yesterday with Del, Rion, and Richard from the Mustard Seed. We went over the communications plan, the details of the shipment arrival, and what we would do in each city as the time got closer.

Man, I can feel this thing coming closer, and I'm getting so pumped about it. This is going to be a lot of fun. I think that after this I will have a unique perspective on this country that many of us don't know a thing about. It will certainly be a different kind of cross-country trek than most embark on. I'll let you know what I see as I'm going.

More updates to come!

The Details of Where and When

Got? on Facebook

We have a face book page. You can find me under the name "Got Ginch and we accept all friend invitations.

Getting started

Hi, I'm Brent. Just an ordinary guy. I have a very tolerant wife and a son who keeps me very busy. I go to work every morning as a medical device designer. Every year I give to charity and hope that it makes a difference. This year I decided to try something different.

I like finding solutions to problems. Homelessness is a huge problem in our society, but not one with an easy solution. So I tried to think of a way to solve one portion of the problem, in my own small way.

Turns out that homeless shelters across the country are always in need of new, clean underwear. That was a manageable need, so I began working on providing for that one need.

I started locally in my hometown of Calgary by asking the good people at the mustard seed how many pair of underwear they would typically need in a year. The answer 2500. I set out to supply them with enough underwear to last them one year. The need was within my means and I could solve this problem for one agency.

I was feeling pretty good about myself so I told a friend about my idea. His response was: "you could make this so much bigger". This friend and a few others pledged some money and before I knew it I had Calgary and Edmonton covered. Then I decided to challenge my friends and business contacts. (A decision I may soon regret) It told everyone I knew that I would personally deliver 2500 pair of underwear to each major city if they donated the money to supply the remainder. I started with Vancouver and we started moving east. Each week more donations rolled in and we would have another major city on the list.

And it turns out I know a lot of generous people. I am now the proud custodian of 25,000 (yes, twenty-five thousand) pairs of tighty-whities that I will deliver to 10 Canadian cities, from Vancouver to Halifax.

I'm excited and grateful for the response and support. I invite you to join me on the drive. I will be hitting the road on May 7th, posting updates here leading up to departure, and once I'm on the road.

Mom always said pack lots of clean underwear. Got it covered Mom! Thanks.

Brent