Giving Christmas
We know that many families in our community have been hit hard by layoffs, inflation, and other dire circumstances. I talked about it with my wife and son and we decided that we are in a position to give. We want that to be our focus this Christmas.
Instead of doing our usual gift exchanges with our immediate and extended families, we have decided to help Utah Families Feeding Families, a local non-profit dedicated to helping families that may not qualify for government assistance, but still have legitimate needs. Every Christmas they organize a gift drive for children whose families do not qualify for Sub for Santa, The Giving Tree, Toys For Tots, etc. We have signed up to help three children.
It's completely anonymous – we don't know who they are and they don't know who we are. We selected from a list of hundreds of children which included some basic details like their age, gender, clothing sizes, needs, and interests. We are asked to give each child both a few things they need and a few things they want.
I selected Child 267, a 10-year-old boy who sounds extremely bright and has some special needs. I had more fun than I thought I would as I shopped for some of his gifts online today. I tried to put myself in his place and imagine how I would feel opening his gifts for Christmas. I hope it's a magical day for him.
I'm sure my wife and son are having similar experiences thinking about and shopping for their children.
Those who are sponsoring children purchase and drop off their gifts to Families Feeding Families (FFF) by December 5th, then they have a massive “wrapping party” to wrap all of the gifts and ensure every child on their list is accounted for.
After Christmas, the families of the children write anonymous thank-you notes which are posted in the FFF Facebook group. It's great to hear about the child's and their families' reactions to the gifts they receive – but especially to know of the joy and help they bring.
I'm not writing this “for the Gram” (for recognition or validation), but to highlight the work of a charitable organization and show one of many examples of the good being done in the world – people coming together to give and to help those in need. And also with the intention of inviting you, the reader, to consider looking for ways to give in your local community if you are in a position to do so – at Christmas and any time.
#100DaysToOffload (No. 50) #charity #Christmas
