From Frontlines to Frameworks Kacsandi speaks with the calm conviction of someone who’s been on both sides of a locked door.
Before joining HomeAid, she spent more than twenty years in nonprofit work.
“I was that person with the duct tape,” she says. “Constantly on call, working seventy hours a week. Now I get to help the people I used to be. The ones holding everything together with scraps and prayer.” Her first major project with HomeAid hit home—the diaper drive. “I’m a mom of two,” she says. “When I hear about parents using plastic bags because they can’t afford diapers, it breaks me. I think back to when one ripped and I just threw it away without thinking. That was a luxury. Some parents don’t have that choice.” The first drive collected 80,000 diapers. Last summer, HomeAid Orlando reached one million. “Russ and his wife used to deliver diapers in their car,” she smiles. “Now we need trucks. That’s not just growth, it’s more than that, it’s hope multiplied.” The Man With Two Dogs Each week on her drive, Annamae passes the same man, unhoused, with two dogs.
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