FTX (French Toast & Hugs) Motor City Invite – FTX #19
September 14th, 2014
Hart Plaza, Detroit (Corner Of Woodward & Jefferson)
Starting At 9am
August 3rd, 2014
It’s been almost two long years since FTX Namibia rolled out on a beautiful sunny September day in Swakopmund. It was our 18th FTX and a turning point in my life.
French Toast & Hugs (FTX) has changed with every event.
And in doing so has changed me.
It has made me bolder, it has made me braver, it has made me kinder with the understanding that we are all the same in wanting to be loved and accepted.
We are truly each other’s brothers and sisters.
FTX has given me faith in life and in people because I have seen firsthand how unconditional love can change the world.
So how was FTX Namibia different? Well, instead of handing out french toast and hugs as unconditional gifts to just people passing by we also invited 300 children from local orphanages to be our special guests.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I only knew I didn’t want to fail these kids.
I wanted to give them a day of unconditional joy.
A day where everything went their way.
A day filled with love.
And it was perfect.
They arrived in their finest clothes. The boys in pressed suits and the girls in their dresses. I seldom looked up from my grill as I wanted each piece of tasty Challah bred to be golden brown but I could hear their laughter and joy as they played that day near the ocean.
It wasn’t until the end of that day that I turned around and saw a very serious looking young man waiting behind me. We introduced ourselves and he gave me his thanks. He then said “You are a great man. Don’t stop doing this.”
I tried to tell him he was a great man as well, that we are all legends. Something I will always believe because I know it to be true. But he wouldn’t allow me to deflect his words and so they sank in over these past two years.
Not “You are a great man.”
But rather “Don’t stop doing this.”
He was absolutely right.
Giving unconditional love is the most powerful and wonderful thing any of us can do. But giving it to these kids had an epic quality that I will never fully understand.
All I know is that it changed me.
And so we are gearing up for our 19th event. FTX Motor City in the “Hart” of downtown Detroit. Our special guests will be local foster kids and their foster parents and we are hoping to raise donations of summer clothes, sneakers, toys & backpacks for them. As always, the french toast and hugs are free. And there are no conditions attached and no donations required. But if you’d like to donate to these kids please send your packages (no money will be accepted) before the end of October to my office care of:
Shyam Yadav (FTX) – Sage & Milo VFX
1999 Centerpoint Parkway
Suite 3000
Pontiac, Michigan 48341-3150
We’ll make sure the local foster agencies get them after our FTX in September to distribute.
And so we are kicking into gear our 19th event for a city that deserves love and respect.
Detroit: Home of Motown, John Lee Hooker’s Boogie, and Muscle Cars.
I’d say wish us luck but like I wrote earlier, I’ve got faith.
love,
toast
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