Lend a Helping Hand

There are two organizations in the DuPage area that are always doing good and reaching out to people that I think people should be aware of.

The first is an organization called Feed My Starving Children http://www.fmsc.org/   They prepare and pack food called Manna Packs to send to children all over the world. It is quite the operation and they have volunteer opportunities in all parts of the country. Please check out their website to see how you could help.

The Hesed House http://www.hesedhouse.org/ in Aurora is a Homeless shelter which provides dinner, breakfast, beds, showers, clothes washer, toiletries and food for those less fortunate. Recently, they had a shortage on blankets (if you live in Chicago you can understand why this is such an issue) but after a few phone calls and emails over 100 blankets were donated by friends and family. To those of you that did part ways with your old quilts and throws, "Thank you so very much! You can go to sleep every night knowing that someone is being kept warm because of you." The staff of the HH was very grateful and shocked at how many blankets were added to their supply this week.




I encourage each of you to take one day out of each month to go volunteer your time and effort to a cause that is important to you. http://www.volunteermatch.org/ These examples are two totally different causes and there are hundreds of organizations like these looking for volunteers, but the one thing that they have in common is helping others, doing good and loving each other. I can assure you that you will leave whichever organization you choose with a lighter heart and being more grateful for what you have in your own life. Sometimes we all need a bit of a reminder of how lucky we really are.

Family Holiday

In the most recent years a lot of holidays were spent either in an airport or at a hotel in a different city. This year, family was my focus and it was the warmest, most cheerful holiday season that I've had in a while.

Thanksgiving:

Since it was just my Dad and I for the "stuff your face" holiday we voted against cooking a lavish meal and instead decided to give back to the community. Santa Barbara, California has a high population of homeless people. The town along with OrganicSoupKitchen.com open up a local VFW and turn it into a banquet hall for those less fortunate to come in an feast on traditional Thanksgiving food, while socializing and listening to live music. We were volunteers to help serve food, talk to guests and clean up. Firstly, I was amazed at how many people were taking time out of their Thanksgiving holiday to give back. I was especially impressed by those parents that brought their children with to help; what an important lesson to instill into your children at a young age. Secondly, I think I gained more from that experience than those receiving the free meal. I realized by actually sitting down and talking to them  that not all of them got to this life by drugs and alcohol, many of them actually have pretty impressive education and skill sets and hard times could happen to any of us. They appreciated conversing with someone that actually wanted to hear what they had to say, listen to their life story and talk about their future goals and dreams. I don't know where any of them are today or what they are doing, but I do know that I will always remember Thanksgiving of 2011 and always be grateful for what I have in life.

Christmas.

There is nothing better than aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, siblings and parents all being under the same roof. The familiar smells of staple holiday dishes (vegetable mornay). The traditions that are unique to your family (The shrine and birthday song) . The silly games and topics that always make themselves present at these sorts of gatherings (post it note and now Wii Dance). The after Christmas Thulis outing (Laser tag or Shedd Aquarium). At least for me, these things are what make it special and although my family is goofy, loud and full of characters, I love them dearly and am grateful for every single one of them being in my life.