My mind has wandered toward the idea of acts of kindness this week. On Saturday, I will be attending a benefit for a woman I have known for most of my life. On Facebook, there is a page set up for this woman, and I have been watching the various mention of items being donated to the silent auction. I am overwhelmed by the value of so many of the items being donated: trips to Disneyworld, trips to Door County, RV Rental, a vending machine, and a trip in a small engine plane, are just some of the bigger ticket items being auctioned. But the list goes on for pages of items that have been donated. And besides the donated items, people are buying tickets which help raise funds, so every ticket sold before the event is $25 raised, at the event, $30. The generosity of the Shakopee community is very heart-warming!
And then, as I watched Rock Center last night, they showed a special on the face of homelessness in America. One of the families they featured has just been offered a rental home with the rent being paid for the next 5 years by the local churches. Another family has not been as fortunate yet, but they have found a homeless shelter that will let them stay together, which is very important for them, with three nearly adult males and their mother. The generosity of the churches are amazing.
And finally, I am reminded about those struggling to make ends meet through other calamities: death, divorce, lost jobs, cut hours and benefits. While our economy continues to improve, there are still many people who are not feeling that impact. Employers are hesitant to offer more jobs, better pay, or benefits because they believe it will cut into their profits.
This year, as with the past few years, a group of friends and I are adopting a family in our county to provide some Holiday gifts for them. Amazingly, the gift item requests for the kids tend to be clothing and not toys. How much does that reflect on community needs?
Sometimes, your heart tells you that there is a family in need of financial support as well. And though you are not exactly stuffing money in your pockets, you have saved some cash that would do them much more good than you. So what do you do? What would you do?
Peace