Giving to and Helping Others

What Prompts YOU to Give?

Years back, my “Taking on the World,” 20-ish daughter would pop over to help watch, “Life Goes On”, a TV show about a family raising a son with Down’s Syndrome, in addition to the healthy siblings. The stories were almost always touching, so I re-named it, “Make Me Cry”, reflecting my “tough” child’s weekly response. Oh, I too had my share of hard swallows!

Since then, we’ve had the likes of, *Touched By an Angel, *Joan of Arcadia, Extreme Makeover-Home Edition and now, Oprah’s, The Big Give. Granted, some *stories were created in the writing room, yet, I felt someone was indeed experiencing a similar problem. I hardly ever miss Extreme Makeover. On one hand, I am SO proud of how a community unites to rescue people from the cracks of life. On the other hand, it upsets me that perhaps nothing would happen without the intervention of Ty Pennington, his gang of “elves” and all the donating sponsors. Granted, donor companies get a tremendous amount of low-cost exposure, but that’s how the world spins today. On the third hand, maybe we truly are at the point of re-awakening the spirit of man helping man!

I spent 9 years with a ministry and food bank assisting a multitude of the poor, fire victims, homeless, abuse victims, drug/alcohol rehabs, physical/mental dependents, down-sized job loss, low income and anyone else needing help. There’s not enough space to say how easy it was to get sick or really upset at some of the conditions in which people barely exist. It can get to you, but you become as does the battlefield Medic who treats quickly to stop the bleeding, then moves on to the next of the oh so many wounded.

There’s a book in all of this, but for now, you just need to know that many outsiders could not/would not believe how much a small group could accomplish, but we had the records to bear witness. In many neighborhoods are small advocacy groups who sleep very little in the quest of helping others get at least some of what they need. Their budgets don’t allow for advertising, so you might have one on your street and not even be aware.

SO…what can YOU do? Your cupboard or pantry definitely has canned/boxed groceries that never got past the good intention of a new recipe. Included are items that you couldn’t pay the kids to eat. Donate them to the local food bank. Hunger goes beyond holidays! Dressers and closets teem with clothes worn once or never…some still tagged! There are utensils, duplicate dishes, pots and pans that will never cook tapioca on your stove. In the linen closet is a sheet, blanket, pillowcase or towel that will never get off the bottom of that pile. Walk around the house, garage and basement. Outside of holiday decorations, if you haven’t used it in a month, odds are you never will.

Open the phone book or go online to locate organizations that can re-use your serviceable offerings. Some will pick up. Ask for a tax deduction receipt. Donate clean goods, working appliances and unbroken furniture. If you belong to a church, tell them what you have available. Chances are, someone in the congregation or neighborhood needs it and not much gasoline will be used to transfer it. You can help and you’ll feel better for having done so. Also, it never hurts to say “hi” to a stranger, pass along a smile, give a hug and even volunteer. And, there you have it!