Hey, remember the hot dog truck?

A few months ago, we announced an ambitious project called The Works to benefit a single mom named Brienne in our church. Brienne owns and operates a hot dog truck called Hot Diggity Dog that was in need of a little love. We wanted to fix it up and deck it out. So we made this video and invited you to come along on this crazy ride.

Your response was amazing! We collected about $2400, and a ton of volunteers stepped up to help: carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, you name it.

We’ve gotten a lot of work done, and we’re planning a fun “reveal day” when it’s all done. But in the mean time, we wanted you to know two things:

FUNDRAISER: EAT AT TROPICAL SMOOTHIE THIS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22
If you’re out Christmas shopping this Saturday, print and bring the coupon below to Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Centereach (137 Centereach Mall) for a bite to eat, and 20% of your check will be donated to this project! So while you’re scarfing down your Smokin’ Spinach Turkey Wrap, you’re also helping us purchase glamorous items like a propane fridge.

PROGRESS REPORT
We wanted to let you know what your donations and volunteering have accomplished since you last heard from us! All this labor was done by volunteers from True North and supplies bought with the money you donated.

• The toilet in the truck was moved to give Brienne more room to work. This involved building a platform for the toilet’s new location, rerouting the plumbing, and remodeling the bathroom door.
• She now has new batteries for the truck and the generator.
• The cooler was replaced with a new, bigger one.
• We took out the failing generator and it’s now in the hands of a great mechanic. A metal fabricator is making a bracket and cage to mount it on the back of the truck when it’s all fixed up.
• A designer mocked up some gorgeous vinyl-wrapped graphics to make the truck more eye-catching.
• Brienne’s new steam table just arrived, and will be installed this week!

What we’re still working on:

• Ordering and installing a new exterior door.
• Remodeling the benches inside.
• Once the door is installed, having the truck repainted. (An auto collision specialist in our church offered to donate all the labor for this.)
• Once the paint job’s done, having the graphics printed and getting the truck vinyl-wrapped. (This is also being donated!)
• Engineering & building a bun-warming cabinet that will use the heat from the steam table.
• Building shelving for the soda, etc.
• Taking care of the remaining miscellaneous small items: Install the serving shelf, add signage…
• Finishing it off with some interior decorating to make it a nice place for Brienne’s daughter Teagan to hang out while Mom is working. (Teagan’s one request: “Sparkles.”)

So we’re asking two things of you… 1) Eat at Tropical Smoothie this Saturday (don’t forget to print and bring your coupon!). 2)Pray! Pray that this project will be completed quickly and smoothly so that we can get Brienne up and running with her souped-up shop-on-wheels as soon as possible.

Look out for more updates as the project rolls on!