The Importance of Community Service During the Holidays

In the midst of a flurry of shopping, partying, and spending, it's easy to forget about the multitudes of people who are less fortunate. But this is the time of year when the importance of community service should be most apparent. Feeding the hungry, donating presents to the poor, and performing errands for the elderly are all ways that people can donate their time and money towards the members of the community. Karen Walrond of chookooloonks asks, 'How will you help your community this holiday season?"

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katieladyTX
2 yearss ago

This is a GREAT topic Karen, kudos! I especially like the lead-in, 'Christmas doesn't come unless you give to kids that are less-fortunate than you are.' What a great lesson to teach! Every year we have been married, my husband and I have participated in our church's Angel Tree, selecting 2 kids names and buying gifts for them. And it didn't matter where we lived or what church we went to, every single one has done that and I love it. Now that we have an almost-3-year-old, who is in school now, we have actively involved him in the process. He goes to a church-run daycare/preschool, and they have a 'toy drive' as well. We took our son shopping for gifts on the list he brought home from school, with the express intention of teaching him that it was for ANOTHER little boy that might not get toys, etc. Not sure if he 'got' it or not, but time will tell. We also participate in food drives that both our son's school and our own church have, as both places operate a soup-kitchen once a week and both are always needing a stocked pantry. These days more than ever. Because you're right, it is important to give all year, not just at holiday times, although that is certainly when almost all of the charities bring in the heavy-hitters and do the most marketing. Thanks again for this post, and reminding us that giving is such an important lesson to teach your kids.

Talon
2 yearss ago

Growing up, we did alot of living hand to mouth, though I didn't really realize it then. We live in Michigan, and both sides of my family worked for 2 of the Big Three so layoffs and dad and uncles and whatnot working new, shorter jobs (my dad at one time worked three jobs at once) and my mom worked as much as she could while we were young. I can remember a few years when she stayed home...but I'm getting off track. Point is, we did school food drives and that was pretty much it. We had food, a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs and a good life, but I know only NOW just how tight things were. So we didn't have any family traditions, and when our son died in May of '97, we started doing the Angel Tree in his name...picking out a child who was the age Rhys would have been and buying the present asked for on the angel. We also did Toys for Tots. It's been a few years now since we've been able to do the Angel Tree. In the past eight years, we've had several rough ones...and I mean Ripley got presents from Grandma and Grampa and aunties and friends over the internet...and not from us because we literally had no money. Last year she got an American Girl Doll from my friend Elyce, and that was her big Yule gift. We donate to and buy from charity Thrift stores. We donate books to the library. One year I paid a friend's utility bills because I could and she couldn't and she had three kids and was barely making it. I've donated to our local Animal Shelter in the name of a loved one's deceased pet and virtually adopted animals...paying for their room and board essentially. I've donated to those in need on the internet, and I've been on the receiving end of the generosity of the internets in some very amazing ways. There are certainly people out there less fortunate than we are, it's true. We still have our home, a working (bangs on wood) vehicle, clothes, food and supplies and help for Ripley's homeschool activities. She earns ALOT of scholarships, and Grampa pays for her YMCA membership and any classes she is taking. We DON'T have medical care...none at all right now except for my husband who is a vet and the VA is covering him gratis for now. Fair enough *I* think...he gave ten years of his life to his country and during war times too. But our social worker who is not answering our calls (we go to the supervisor tomorrow) has revoked even RIPLEY's health care. She's NINE. She qualifies for every health care under the sun, because Michigan made a decision to take good care of kids. And he took it away for a bullshit reason. Plus...Jim and mine's Medicade has a monthly $600 "spend down" that you must pay for each person (aside from children under eighteen) EACH MONTH before Medicade will cover anything. . . . Our monthly income is roughly 1300.00. (My husband has been unemployed for 18months, not counting one temp summer job...and he has a degree and certifications and qualifications for things out the ass...but it's Michigan. *sigh*) Ironically if we had the extra twelve hundred bucks a month, we wouldn't qualify for medicade...so it's a complete mystery to me how I'm supposed to get the medical treatment I need for my disease which has no cure and requires strict maintenance...which I'm not getting, thank you social worker who is a complete and utter jerk and also cut our food stamps in half making it nearly impossible to pay our bills and we don't even have credit cards. So this year, I get to be sick again for Christmas, and it's the second Christmas in a row that my husband is unemployed. Thankfully unemployment benefits have been extended, federally and specifically here, in Michigan. We have it better than alot of people. I never forget that. But we don't have it so much better that we can buy toys or food or clothes for kids when we have our own child to feed and clothe and who will likely not get much from Mom and Dad as it is for Christmas. This is not a pity plea...I don't need anything but either Medicade or the application I'm supposed to be getting so that I can apply to qualify for the very expensive drug that controls my condition for free...it's more frustrating than anything else. My husband worked full time and went to school to complete his degree. And what did it get him? Well going on two years of unemployment, that's what it got him. As for charity work, we'll be doing Poppies for the American Legion this year. Making them, I mean. Besides clearing out Ripley's old toys to hand down to Willow, her cousin, or give to thrift stores, that'll probably be it.

MeMyselfandMommy
2 yearss ago

Karen, I am so glad you brought this up because it is something that is very important to my soul and I have been trying to find ways to teach my two-year-old the importance of giving to others. We began by having her hand out candy on Halloween to kids that came to our house. She got to go trick-or-treating several times during the week, so when Saturday came, we decided to teach her how fun it is to give to others. Since high school, I have participated in a community event called Christmas Baskets that I am planning on taking my daughter to this year. I love it because it's something tangible, the community is there and you are simply giving your time. Organizations and businesses in the area donate huge amounts of nonperishable food and toys for children of all ages. All of the food and toys are setup in a circle. You start by picking up a sheet that tells you how many people are in the family and how old the children are. You then go to each table of the many different foods with boxes, and collect the food that is listed on your families sheet. At the end you pick out a toy for each child in the family and put them in a large gift bag. Then you start over with another family. When this is all done, the food and gifts are delivered to the families. I think that it will be a great experience for Moanna because she can pick up the cans of food and put it in the boxes and pick out the toys. The other two things that we are looking at doing is choosing a child off of the Angel Tree and a senior off of the Santa to a Senior program. It will allow Moanna to help pick out and wrap presents for another child and grandparent.

jenniepennie
2 yearss ago

A friend of mine, Rachel, runs an an art co-op in a Haitian refugee village in Dominican Republic. She employs about 30 women to create accessories and candles to sell to tourists and locals. It's a great project because these women have few options in terms of income to feed their children. Here, the co-op teaches them skills and offers diginity to women would would otherwise find themselves in compromising situations. Anyway, this is something my family and I will be supporting this year. Here's the website, if you're interested in learning more: http://latienda.moonfruit.com/ If you're on the site, you should read her blog. It's very eye-opening. She just legally adopted a child that was left on her doorstep a few years ago. So she's a new mom. Pretty interesting stuff.

VIP09
2 yearss ago

What we've done throughout the year was donate clothing and household items to Cystic Fiborsis. They will call every couple of months to find out if we have anything to donate and we leave it out for them to pick up. With my son in school, they do a can food drive and we've donated to that too. We also donate a percentage of money each year to different charities. But the big one this year is my son is now old enough to be asking for things he sees on TV, so I decided to follow in my parents tradition of helping my son clean up his room and gather toys that he was willing to donate to children who don't have any toys. He was really into it and we were able to clear his room of toys that he never plays with. Unfortunately I think he thinks now Santa will bring him more toys for his good deed. It's a start at least!

The Importance of Community Service During the Holidays

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