Giving as a Family on Giving Tuesday!
It’s December 3rd which on its own doesn’t mark any big holiday for us except that it’s also the first Tuesday following the U.S. Thanksgiving, which for years has been known as “Giving Tuesday”. It’s the international day of charitable giving as we head in the Christmas and holiday season.
It’s become a tradition in our house to think of the less fortunate and give back throughout the year but especially at Christmas time. Giving has always been very important to me but has become even more so in the past few years. I appreciate every day that I have and everyone in my life. I’m so grateful and thankful for my wonderful kids, husband, friends and family who have been there for me and have supported me during the good and the bad times. It’s their love that keeps me going! When I give back, I am giving back for them.
It’s also very important to me that we teach our kids about the importance of kindness and of giving back. Every day we try to talk about and think about being kind. My daughter said the cutest thing the other day and without any prompting. She wants to create her own charity called “Help Everyone” because that’s exactly what she wants to do, help everyone who needs help. SO on that same theme, for Christmas this year we put up a Kindness Calendar. We came up with ways we can be kind and different ways we can give to others who aren’t as fortunate as us. Here are some of the ways we are giving back today and this Christmas!
LOCAL FOOD DRIVE
This past weekend we volunteered to help our local community food drive. As a family we walked around the neighborhood delivering paper bags that we hope our community will help fill again with non-perishable food for those less fortunate than us. We reached 200 homes and also plan on filling a few of those bags ourselves – we have our annual grocery shopping trip coming up where we fill our cart with food for others. Every city has their own organization, in Toronto you can check out the Daily Bread Food Bank for a location near you.
ADOPT A FAMILY
This year as a family we’ve joined forces again with the great community we live in to make Christmas a bit better for a local family in need through a program called “Adopt a Family”. We’re helping a family in need by buying them warm clothing, toys for the kids and giving them gift cards for toys and for groceries. Anything we can do to make their Christmas a bit better. If you want more information you can check out Community Living Toronto.
TOY MOUNTAIN TOY DRIVE
We also will be going on a shopping spree for toys but not for us. It makes me so happy when my kids actually want to go shopping to buy for kids that are less fortunate than for ourselves. So again we will be donating a huge sack of toys to Toy Mountain in hopes to make some children’s Christmas a bit brighter.
DONATING TO A CHARITY
While I’ve donated to other charities throughout the year, together at Christmas time we also donated to two charities that are important to me, the Hospital for Sick Kids and Plan International because it’s about helping other children. This past year my son got really sick and we had no idea what was wrong so we rushed him to Sick Kids. They discovered his appendix had burst and he needed surgery. The entire time we were in great hands and the care he received was the best. They need our support to make sure they are able to help all kids who need it. Charitable giving is really a personal thing and you should give to a cause that’s important to you.
It’s so important that we value all that we have and show our gratitude by helping others in need. This lesson is the most important gift I am giving my kids this Christmas. It feels good to give, and every little bit counts. How are you giving back today and over the holidays? Today is a great day to start!
