A day when most people gather with family and loved ones to give thanks for the blessings they've been bestowed by sharing a large meal, Thanksgiving is the ultimate gratitude holiday. Being the wayward traveler that I am, I rarely make it home to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving, preferring to save my time off for Christmas. Over the years I have been invited to share Thanksgiving with various friends, families of my now exes, and organizations that I was working for at the time.
(Pictures from Manovich Thanksgiving 2018)
This year, with my focus on gratitude, I knew early on that I would be volunteering in some capacity for Thanksgiving. One of the first organizations to pop up in my searches for volunteers was the Salvation Army of Tempe.
The tagline for the Salvation Army really struck a chord with me and is something that I'm now incorporating into my line-up of personal mantras:
"Doing the most good." It's a simple phrase that is more of a declarative statement than a mantra, but for me I think this is a great lense with which to examine how we are contributing to the world around us.
At any given time, are we doing the most good for our bodies, our minds, our relationships, the people around us, the world we live in, etc?
Due to COVID, the decision was made to pre assemble Thanksgiving meals, bag them up, and hand them out instead of the traditional sit down and serve meal. I was technically signed up to help at the refreshments table, but my catering skills kicked in and I ended up mostly running hot food to the shaffers.
Because my love language is acts of service, my cup was overflowing the whole time. I even stayed several hours past my shift because I liked the buzz I was feeling from helping others. Volunteering does as much for the people being helped as it does for the helpers, at least for me it does.
It is easy as humans to get hung up on the ways that we feel short changed, wronged, or inadequate and we can lose sight of how truly blessed and fortunate we are, especially in seasons of abundance.
We can all benefit from occasional reality checks and humbling experiences that help us fully appreciate all that we have. Stepping outside of ourselves and providing service to those in need, is an excellent way I have found to truly live in gratitude.
Below is a short list of links and resources for ways to be of service this holiday season:
The Salvation Army Needs: Bell ringers, Christmas Angel Tree, clothing donations, etc.
Volunteer Match A website that does the searching and matching for you.
Feeding America Partners with local food banks to distribute food to hungry people and families. Needs: Volunteers and monetary donations.
Toys for Tots Needs: Toy donations, Corporate sponsorship, and fundraisers.
Operation Christmas Child An organization that sends shoe boxes of goodies to children in developing countries. Needs: Online shoebox donations (no need to purchase, just create your box with pre selected items online) processing plant volunteers, and monetary donations.
Check your area for local organizations and non profits that might also need volunteers this season!
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