In the spring of last year, Susan Nabity sat on her sofa, feeling anxious and desperate—one of the clients in her small house cleaning business had just passed away and it was a huge blow to her monthly income.
Not only did she have bills to pay, but she was feeling the pressure of being a single mother to a teenage son—a very big teenage son who at 6'5" and 300 pounds required lot of food to fuel his athletic pursuits at Fremont High School.
"I really didn't know what I was going to do," Nabity explains. The television had been on in the background, but suddenly Nabity became aware of the program—"Extreme Couponing." She watched with growing interest as the show featured enthusiastic shoppers planning and clipping their way to unbelievable savings. "I thought to myself, this is either really fake or I can do this!"
"I can't begin to know what these kids have experienced or what they’re going through now, but just knowing my hobby can help them is overwhelming. I'm just so glad I can do it."
With an inkling of hope, Nabity began clipping coupons and watching sales while continuing to watch the show for further pointers. She asked her friends and customers to save their coupon circulars for her as well, and she started seeing the results of her efforts. In fact, on one particularly successful shopping trip at Walmart, her coupons garnered her $300 worth of product as well as $78 in cash!
So what do you do with so much stuff? Well if you’re Susan Nabity, you help others in need. "God blessed me and saved me at a rough time in my life," she notes. "So I thought I should turn around and give to others." A former paraeducator who had facilitated after-school educational programs for public schools and a non-profit, Nabity had a particular fondness for kids in need. Acting on the suggestion of one of her customers, she approached Child Saving Institute with her "bounty."
Over the past several months, Nabity has dropped off donations of toothpaste (hundreds of tubes!), toothbrushes, floss, diapers and diaper cream, baby shampoo, bath wash and lotion, deodorant, hair products, razors, body lotion and gum. In turn, these items have been distributed to clients in CSI's programs, including the emergency shelter, Young Parents Program and, most recently, to Child Saving Institute’s Foster Families.
"I can't begin to know what these kids have experienced or what they’re going through now," Nabity says quietly, "but just knowing my hobby can help them is overwhelming. I'm just so glad I can do it."
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| Susan's donations also help stock our Baby Boutique, where young parents can "shop" for items for their babies with points they earn through making good life choices such as earning a GED or taking their baby to doctor's appointments. |
