Day 86 ❦ It’s a chocolate kind of day

Day 86 ❦ It’s a chocolate kind of day

The Gift: Chocolate bars abound

Today’s giving opportunity came to me yesterday when my daughter brought home a big box of chocolate bars to sell as a fund-raiser. I love fund-raisers where I can really get into what they are selling. And chocolate bars fit in that category.

So rather than have her go door to door (which I make her do with wreaths, candles, and booster books) selling these chocolate bars, I decided to buy the whole lot and have her go around the neighborhood and to our friends and family who have purchased tons and tons of “stuff” from her and our older daughter and just give the chocolate bars away as a thank you.

She started with our neighbor who has been so generous with her support - what fun! This is going to be a great day!

❦ You make lots of friends when you give away chocolate.

Day 81 ❦ Giving Thanks is a Gift

Day 81 ❦ Giving Thanks is a Gift

This is an excerpt of a thank you letter that was distributed to the hundreds of people who helped make the distribution of Rotary goodie bags to flood victims such a success...the words in italics were authored by the recipients, the remaining parts of the letter were authored by me...

Members of Rotary District 5960, Thank you, thank you, thank you. When Rotarians from the flood stricken areas of southeastern Minnesota reached out for help – you rose to the challenge and impacted the lives of hundreds in our own backyard. As a result of your efforts - whether it was a Fast For Flood effort, direct contributions, volunteering for clean-up and demolition, or supporting the District Simplified Grant awarded – hundreds of people will hold in high esteem the thoughts and actions of Rotarians. In all, over $21,000 was raised and District 5960 Rotarians volunteered hundreds of hours toward clean-up efforts.

Rotary flood relief bags were distributed to 165 households by disaster relief workers in the most impacted areas of the flooding. Each Rotary bag included holiday ornaments, ornament hangers, candy canes, a card explaining Rotary and its mission and finally, $100 in local vendor gift cards as a token of recognition of the difficulty faced by all those impacted by the flood and the unique un-met needs of each household. Armed with the gift bags, relief workers hand-delivered each bag and were received with surprise, gratitude, tears, and deep appreciation. We have received 118 thank you letters so far. Here are some excerpts:

“I thank you for your thoughtfulness and assistance, God bless you”, “Everyone has been so kind. An experience like this is very humbling.”, “Thank you so much - who says there is no Santa Claus?”, “What an unexpected wonderful surprise. It brings tears of amazement/awe that we were blessed to receive these gifts. We lost so much – and to be thought of and receive of this, we are so thankful from the bottom of our hearts.”, “People like you continue to surprise me. It only goes to prove that there are many good people left in this world. Thank you for your generosity and remembering us. May the Lord bless you all.”, “I am just one gratitude filled recipient of a flood assistance bag you so kindly gathered and most appreciatively distributed. Its most meaningful motto – Service Above Self – says it all. Your collective unforgettable kindness encouraged me in multiple ways.”, “We would like to thank you for your efforts for the families effected by the floods. We were able to enjoy Christmas and not worry about how spending for Christmas dinner would effect our repairs.”,  “ Dear Rotary Members, This should be typed - my handwriting leaves a little to be desired, but I chose to write by hand to make my thank you as personal as the gift you gave me. I was amazed at the time of the flood by the display of care and support the community extended. Now to receive this wonderful gift confirms my faith that this is a season of hope. We are continuing to work on our home to restore it to the livable condition it was before the flood. To know you still think about all we have to still deal with is encouraging. THANK YOU”

Each Rotarian and Rotary club is dedicated to strengthening the local and world community by assessing human needs and implementing humanitarian projects. In all our work we respect the dignity of each person and the equality of all people. By making this $21,000 gift, Rotarians of District 5960 displayed the spirit of building goodwill and peace in our own backyard. Thank you.

Interlude ❦ Give thanks to those who give

Interlude

Recently, in real time (2012) I had the privilege to travel to Ghana to work with the staff at Street Girls Aid, a non-profit oorganization working with street children. You can read about some of the lessons learned at www.csksghana.blogspot.com  This was our second trip there in 2012 to help develop capacity within the leadership at Street Aid so that they can continue to serve the 61,000 street children living, working, and sleeping on the streets of Accra, Ghana. As usual, the experience changed me in ways of which books are written. The undertaking was made possible by many people who supported and continue to support projects or initiatives that help nurture and grow sustainability within organizations in developing countries. There is no way possible to thank each and every person, although I have been diligently trying, the numbers are significant and many of the donors and supporters anonymous.

The staff at Street Girls Aid sent us back to the United States with personal thank yous written by them and addressed to the Presidents of the ten Rotary Clubs that financially supported the grant that made it possible to conduct this work, they also sent a variety of other thank yous for us to deliver. I in turn made up a thank you flyer that has been sent or handed personally to another 60 people, but I know I am still missing countless people - so I have decided to post the thank you here.

Giving thanks is as powerful as giving gifts. In this case, I wanted people to know that their support not only made a difference, but that it made an impact...on more people's lives than we will ever know, like a ripple on one side of the world that becomes a wave that can lift a surfer. So today I simply and humbly give thanks to whomever has given. Period.

We will never know what ripple we made that will lift someone up somewhere else, we do it all the time without any thought of having to know outcome. For creating that ripple - THANK YOU!

❦ Give thanks to those who give. Here’s how I am thanking those who recently supported me: