A TIME FOR GIVING….BACK

The Christmas season is truly my favorite time of the year. I used to think that everyone felt the same. I've since discovered that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for celebrating the birth of Christ, the lights, the decorations, the treats, the shopping, the gift giving and general good cheer. This can be a truly sad, depressing and dark time for many people. I'm not trying to kill anyone's joy or anything just making a very real observation.

Each Christmas season I try to make some sort of contribution to make a difference in the life or lives of those that are less fortunate than I am. In years past I am always left feeling like I should have done more. I usually get too busy and end up never doing as much as I planned to do. I'm a true believer in the old statement, "Charity begins at home." I much prefer to look around and give where I can see the need and see my gift at work. Maybe that is a little selfish of me but I enjoy the gratification of seeing my contribution making a difference.

In the true spirit of the season, Thistle over at Of Thistles and Maple Leaves is throwing down a challenge to bloggersville to give back. I have copied the following directly from her blog (Thanks, Thistle) I would like to invite you to join me in finding new ways to give this year if you are so inclined. It can be as big or as small as you want it to be.

Please stop over to visit Thistle to see the original post.

The Rules

1. Choose some way to give back. Here's a few ideas….

• donate to the foodbank
  
• donate coats and blankets to a homeless shelter
  
• support a craft or bake sale that is in support of your local arts program or senior's centre
  
• give a bag of cat litter or dog food to you favourite animal shelter
  
• donate blood
  
• throw your change in the Christmas Kettle as you're going past
  
• volunteer to man the Christmas kettle
  
• make a new year's resolution to volunteer some time next year to coach a kid's T-ball team or a Special Olympics sport
  
• have a toy drive at school
  
• get a re-usable shopping bag
  

I'm sure you're full of ideas of your own. Maybe make it a family commitment, It's never too early or too late for kids to learn community involvement or the spirit of giving.

Now here's the award…

Pick this one…

…or this one…

2. Tell us all about it, post it on your blog. Then come back and pick up your award. Choose one badge or the other, or both if you're really in the spirit. And don't forget to link back here so we can follow what everyone is doing. And if you're already doing one or all of the above, pick up your badge right this minute!

3. Challenge all visitors to your site to do the same. Link back to the blog where you received the idea. And let's see where this can go.

And if you are in need of some inspiration as to what you can do….this post
at Only A Movie should provide it. Erin is way ahead of the rest of us and we should all follow her lead.

Psuedo over at Psuedononymous High School Teacher has an interesting and relevant Huffington Post link that addresses this topic of giving back to our community…check it out….

I'm not claiming this badge for my blog yet. I have decided that my contribution will be directed toward Hospice as this is an organization that does amazing work and has touched my life in a very personal and meaningful way. I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to do but when I figure it out, I'll post it right here. Just give me a few days.

If you are a reader here and do not have a blog of your own, feel free to leave a comment and I will post your ideas or contributions. Sharing your ideas and contributions can be inspiring to others and the more of us that give, the bigger difference we can make. If you feel like giving but aren't comfortable sharing the information, that's cool too. It's important to remember that it doesn't have to be a big gesture to matter. If your contribution helps just one person, it matters to that ONE person and that's what counts.

GO M.A.D!

(Make A Difference)