“The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful then a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Recently, our daughter's day care raised money for Alex's Lemonade
Stand. This was the first time she took active part in helping out a charity and was very proud of herself as she asked people passing by if they wanted lemonade. She, her classmates, and the entire school should be commended for their efforts.
This act of kindness on their part also inspired me to become more active in giving back. I am an instructor at the Wilmington, Delaware University of Phoenix Campus. Each year, the campus staff attends a camp to spend the day with children that have special needs. This year, I took part; both because the time allowed me to and out of inspiration from seeing my daughter do so before. The day we spent was filled with games, prizes, a well prepared cookout, and a sea of happy faces on the camp's staff and children. In leaving the camp at the end of the day, I was left proud of the colleagues on the campus and the children I witnessed overcome the varying difficulties life has handed them.
We unfortunately live in a time of turmoil, tribulation, stress, and unfortunate sadness throughout our borders and the world at large. An undercurrent of the economic strife is the increasing need of those without the resources to withstand these turbulent times. You can hear it in the campaigns and other political material that is flooding our airwaves, twitter feeds, and facebook pages; we need to conserve our resources and there just is not enough money to go around.
The sad reality is that our government and those who have resources are clinging tighter to necessary resources whilst those in need increase exponentially. And monetary donations are only a part of the equation; time, energy, talents, and the simple giving of oneself are often greater and longer lasting than writing a check. Writing a check would not have afforded me the chance to see the children at the camp and writing a check would not have our daughter enjoy making lemonade, pouring it, selling it with her classmates; ultimately seeing the end result of their collective efforts.
As we turn to fall, and the oncoming holiday season, let us all spread out the efforts and personal selves we can give. Each of us is hurting in our own way from this economy; and each of us could learn a lesson from the quote I opened this with. When the holidays came and my Dad was here; he often would make a point to me that the Salvation Army was a wonderful organization who deserves as much support as we could give. It was personal for him; both in admiration of their cause and the way they went about their business. This resonated until he unfortunately left this earth; our family donated to the Salvation Army in his honor and memory.
So now I challenge you to join me in finding ONE, just ONE charity to do whatever you can for them in this upcoming season and beyond. If you have more time to give, make it more than one. I won't stop you, promise. For now let us all focus on one. Just as there a proverbially thirty two flavors; there are even more worthy organizations with causes and beneficiaries that can surely resonate personally to you. Whether it be cancer or another dreaded disease you witness a loved one go through, a childhood cause because you are a parent like me, or even a cause for animals because of your affection for our two and four legged friends.
And when you do single one out, I hope you share it with your family and circle of friends. There are only a few worthy causes listed below; those causes being ones I personally have an affinity for. Any omission is not intentional and I welcome any recommendations from your experiences. If nothing else, let's all prove Mr. Gandhi right in his quotation.
~ Dave
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