So it started when I had this determination to post pretty pictures of sceneries and nature on Instagram (my favourite social media...and the only one I'm active on).
And with that resolve I started following accounts for inspiration, like @folkmagazine and @wilderness_culture for stunning landscapes, @chinamisakamoto and @utosh for food pictures and many others. And lately I've been lucky enough to get random international followers who share the same interest in landscape photography (so most of the time I follow back to return the favour!).
And there's this one account - @sackclothxashes that is actually an American online shop (http://www.sackclothandashes.com/) that sells really beautiful blankets. With every blanket ordered, the shop will donate one to the buyer's local homeless shelter.
Yeah it's nothing new you'd probably think. Charitable organisations and businesses always mention something about a portion of their earnings or proceeds going to some kind of fund for a group of people who need aid.
But I really like the idea somehow because a blanket symbolises comfort, warmth and a temporary shelter. In my opinion it makes a lot more sense and meaning than just money. The blankets are really pretty too!
Sorry the picture's blurry cos I ripped it from their ig account. I wanna get me one of those socality blankets though, but they're still working on making international shipping available so I gotta wait :)
That's not the interesting part. The name sackcloth and ashes is actually a Jewish (or Biblical) symbol of mourning and repentance, where people used to wear uncomfortable sackcloths made of stiff goat's hair and sit in ashes that represented desolation to express their grief.
The founder and CEO of Sackcloths & Ashes, Bob Dalton, was inspired by the hardship his own mother had to go through when she was forced by unfortunate circumstances into homelessness. "It was then that I realized that not all choose to become homeless - that some just need a second chance." as quoted on the website.
As such, by wrapping oneself in a Sackcloth & Ashes blanket, one is mourning for the homeless population and expressing repentance by contributing to the local homeless people, according to the company.
In Singapore it is hard to find homeless people nowadays due to the efforts put in by the government and charitable organisations. However I'm sure there are still homeless people, or people on the verge of being homeless out there on the streets even though our country is relatively prosperous and has a low unemployment rates.
My sympathy extends to them. Because I've always had the privilege of having a comfortable house to return to everyday and call home, I can't imagine how miserable it must be to be homeless.
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