The Gift of Giving

Several years ago, I started a campaign called Holiday Giving. Each year after Thanksgiving I seek out an individual or family that could use a little extra help at the holidays. The recipient is unaware of this up until the time they receive their gift. When I create the campaign, I give a brief description of the family, but do not give any personal details as names or location of the recipient. The campaign is funded purely by donations from people who do not know the recipient, but simply know there is a family in need, and they share what they can in an effort to help another human being.

Many, many years ago when I was a young single mother working long hours to keep my family afloat things were very difficult. One holiday season was exceptionally difficult as bills were piling up, and I had no idea how I was going to give my children the Christmas they deserved. A few weeks before Christmas I collected my mail from my

PO box at the local post office. I remember it like it was yesterday. I got into my car with mail in hand, sifting through it quickly knowing it was all bills or collections. An envelope caught my eye that looked personal but had no return address on it. I cautiously opened it to find several hundred dollars' worth of gift cards from an anonymous donor. I must have sat in my car for twenty minutes crying uncontrollably at this very generous gift that would change not only Christmas for my children, but also the way I came to understand the impact of giving.

Giving is not a simple act that ends after the gift is received. The act of giving carries on in ways the giver may never know about. It can carry on for years, through generations, to people who have no knowledge of how or why a gift was conceived...It doesn't matter, and that is the beauty of giving. It is especially beautiful when the giver knows nothing of the recipient except for the fact that another human being needs help. Humans possess such greatness, a greatness capable of healing the world one giving act at a time.