Charity Sunday: Holding on to compassion – #CharitySunday #Immigration

Today is the first Charity Sunday of 2025. Lately, my life has been even more hectic than usual, so it snuck up on me. Thus, I didn’t have the chance to open it up to other authors.

I’ve been doing Charity Sunday for eight years now. Since I never manage to donate more than twenty or thirty dollars per month, I can’t claim that the meme has made a big impact. However, I do believe that even the smallest gestures of kindness and compassion have a ripple effect. Maybe someone who reads my post is inspired to some benevolent act of their own. Perhaps one of my charities is new to a reader, but resonates with their own priorities and values, so that they decide to investigate further. In fact, these days it is worthwhile simply to remind readers that there’s a lot more good out there in the world than you’d guess from the daily news.

Anyway, I hope you’ll read this, leave a comment, then carry the positive feeling into your life.

My charity today is KIND (Kids In Need of Defense). (https://supportkind.org/) I’ve featured them before. They have a very specific objective: to protect and guide unaccompanied migrant and refugee children, helping them to navigate the complexities of immigration law as well as offering them physical and emotional support. 

 

I don’t think I need to explain why I’ve chosen them at this moment.

For each comment I receive on this post, I will donate two dollars to KIND.

As usual I have an excerpt for you, but it’s pretty hard for me to find something relevant. Actually I think that out of the dozens of stories I’ve written, only one features a heroine who has a child. (And he’s much beloved.) In Wild About that Thing, Ruby Jones is a single mother trying to raise her thirteen year old son. I’ve got a snippet that shows their relationship.

Blurb

There’s more than one way to beat the blues

Ruby Jones has clear priorities. Her teenage son comes first, then her struggling blues club. Her love life ranks as a distant third. Deserted by her cheating ex-husband, Ruby's determined she's going to make it on her own. She's not about to let any man into her heart. Now her hot blood seems to have landed her in an impossible situation. Two lovers…and she wants them both.

Excerpt

Ruby didn’t bother to go back to bed. She could hear Isaiah moving around in his room, directly above hers. Belting her robe around the waist, she made her way to the kitchen nook and opened the refrigerator. She’d been right—there were still four eggs, plus milk and a crusty lump of parmesan. She’d make them a proper breakfast for a change.

Butter was sizzling in the cast iron skillet by the time Isaiah appeared. “Mama! You’re up!” He gave her an enthusiastic hug, almost causing her to drop the spatula. Ruby loved the fact that he still felt comfortable with that kind of physical affection. Most teenage boys would rather die than touch their mothers.

“Got done so late last night, it hardly seemed worthwhile going to sleep. Maybe I’ll nap after you’re gone.”

Her son sniffed. “Cheese omelet? My favorite!” Without being asked, he pulled half a loaf from the bread box and dropped two slices into the toaster.

“I thought pancakes were your favorite,” Ruby teased. “And what about biscuits and gravy?”

“Um—gee, I like everything you cook!” He plumped himself down in his usual chair. Ruby set two steaming plates on the table and seated herself across from him. He dived into the food as though he hadn’t eaten in a week.

Ruby took a bite of her own omelet. The heavenly taste of fluffy egg spiked with sharp cheese made her realize she was hungry as well. When she wasn’t eating with Isaiah, her meals tended to be pretty irregular.

As his plate emptied, her son became more talkative. “How was the open mic?”

“Fabulous! I’d say there were twice as many customers as usual for a Sunday. It was a great idea, hon.” Isaiah and some of his friends had a rock band called Spyder City; Isaiah played bass. After some of the girls in his class had begged to join him and his buddies on stage, he’d suggested that maybe Ruby should invite her customers to perform.

Her son nodded sagely. “I knew it. Everybody loves to be in the spotlight.”

“Some impressive talent, too.” Ruby’s thoughts slipped back to the lean stranger who’d triggered such powerful desire.

“Yeah? Maybe you should invite some of them to be regulars. Uncle Zeke’s band is awesome, but people like variety.”

“Oh really? Since when are you an entertainment mogul?” Ruby grinned and brushed her hand over his close-cropped skull. “No—don’t bother with the dishes, hon. I’ll take care of them. You go brush your teeth.”

“You sure? I’ve got time, and you must be tired.”

“I’m fine. Anyway, it’s nearly seven-thirty. You’d better get going!”

Without further argument her son scampered up the stairs. Like many old buildings in New York, the one that housed Crossroads was taller than it was wide. The bar was located on the ground floor. On the second floor, Ruby had set up an office. The third floor held her bedroom, the kitchen and dining area and a tiny living room. Isaiah had the whole top floor to himself. He’d been thrilled when he’d seen the place—a spacious bedroom plus a second room where he could study and practice his bass or his violin.

If the owner evicts you, you’ll need to find a new apartment, too. Ruby’s good mood evaporated as she remembered the letter. Resolutely, she pushed the thought into the background. She had ninety days, according to the notice. Today she needed to focus on today’s problems.

You could marry Zeke and move in with him. The voice just wouldn’t give up. True, Zeke had a big, rent-controlled place on Gansevoort Street, not far from the Crossroads. Not that it mattered. If she got kicked out, that would be the end of the bar. She didn’t have the resources to start again.

 

You can find buy links here: https://www.lisabetsarai.com/wildaboutbook.html

Please leave a comment! Every one provides some help for kids stranded without their parents on inhospitable borders.