Thankful
Every holiday season I make sure that I am involved in sponsoring a family and putting together a Christmas Cheer hamper. Making sure a hamper is meaningful and effective requires a little bit of thought and planning. You have to be realistic about your group that it putting together the hamper. Can you effectively support a single person or can you take on a large group? Will your group collect the items that will be needed and appreciated rather than the items they think will be appreciated? How much money will your group be able to collect in order to supplement the hamper with some perishables? When do you want to deliver the hamper to make the most impact for the family? If you are taking on a family with many children, will your group have the spirit to ensure that each member of the family has at least one special and unique gift to open? Can your group take direction from the family they are supporting. Some families are open with their children that they need support from Christmas Cheer and others don't want this disclosed to their children. Essentially, it is your role to support the family and that means supporting the family.
One year, I had a sense that my organization was filled with souls that were generous of spirit so we were able to take on whatever Christmas Cheer was going to give us. We got a single mom with four children. I phoned her to find out what each of her children liked in terms of food items and asked about their interests so that we could get the right gifts for each of them. I also wanted to ensure that the wrapped presents had each of their names on the tags as opposed to "girl, age 9" I assured her that I was the only one in my group to know their names in order to maintain their confidentiality.
She wanted the hamper delivered two days before Christmas even though the kids would be off school and at home. Her kids knew they were getting a hamper and the mom wanted to have fresh milk on Christmas morning. As it happens, December 23 is my most feared day on the calendar so I welcomed the opportunity to do something good on that day.
I know it is not about me, but, our hamper kicked ass. I was so impressed with my organization and the beautiful generous souls that were in it.
When I arrived at the home, I was greeted with hugs from the children and four beautiful drawings that they had made to say thanks for the hamper. The home was full of glee as the children were putting things away. I had so many bags and had to make so many trips. The mom was crying throughout this. When I was on my third trip and one of her daughters told her, "look mom, there is even presents addressed to you:" She became overwhelmed and said, "stop it, don't bring in anything more, I can't take it."
Well, I know you are supposed to listen to your family, but, I couldn't help it, I brought in more.
As she was watching, one of the bags broke and a big jar of peanut butter rolled on the floor. She screamed, "PEANUT BUTTER!" She became inconsolable and told me that she couldn't remember the last time her kids had peanut butter. She was so grateful. But, I was so much more grateful. Grateful that I could witness someone's gratitude. All of my hamper experiences have been memorable, but this one affected me more than any other.
Truth be told, I am not a big fan of peanut butter but I do like it in oatmeal. Regardless, I always make sure that we have a big jar of peanut butter on hand. It reminds me of how much I have and that I need to be grateful.
Of course, I would be even more grateful if Andrew would buy "chunky" peanut butter which is what I ask for, but, hey, life isn't perfect.
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