Something happens around the Holiday season that our society would really benefit from if it happened more often. People seem to be in better moods, more willing to give, and empathy is at an all-time high. Being a volunteer coordinator I definitely see an increase of applicants after Halloween. It is like people “try” to be nice all year ‘round but something about the holidays gets in our heads to put action behind these kind thoughts- and we do amazing things.
The past two Thanksgivings I had the opportunity to be a part of the AmeriCorps Partnership to End Homelessness Turkey Giveaway. The event provides 300 families all the fixin’s for a Thanksgiving meal- a big ol’ turkey, stuffing, a couple cans of vegetables, cranberry sauce, gravy and dessert. The event is scheduled to start at 9am the Tuesday before Thanksgiving but donations and preparation for the event start much earlier. Donations are collected the entire month of November and come in from local grocery stores as well as the community churches and residents. The Monday before Thanksgiving we, AmeriCorps members, spend half of the day as an assembly line sorting and bagging the donations to be ready for the next day’s event.
On the day of the Turkey Giveaway, cars start lining up as early as 8am to make sure they can have a Thanksgiving meal for their family. The Giveaway is drive-thru style; you register at the entrance and make your way toward the big truck while smiling faces are wishing you and your family a happy holiday. At the big truck, you pop your trunk and we bring your bag of sides and your turkey right to the car! It goes extremely smooth and is convenient for those who have vehicles.
I was amazed at the amount of families who were on foot. It is pretty difficult to watch this person get off of the bus, pick up a 10lb turkey and load their arms up with bags of sides, and walk to the bus stop again only to have to wait 30 minutes to bring the food to the home it will be nourishing. Or to watch a four year old and his grandmother walk from their house a few blocks down to get their meal only to have one of the plastic bags break so they have to walk back for a replacement. How is life so unfair?
It does feel good to help someone who is in need of a simple human necessity, but why do we only act on the need around this time of year? People are homeless, hungry and living in poverty all year long, not just around the holidays. There are more donation collection sites, volunteer service projects, and donation drop off locations around this time of year- but why? Is it because people are more willing to give because of the spirit of the holidays? I think people are willing to give and want to help when they can but so much emphasis is put on giving around the holidays that we forget about the rest of the year. What if Salvation Army had bell ringers outside of Food Lion every single Wednesday of every single month? I bet people would still give their change! If Goodwill dedicated one week each month as a week to get rid of old things we don’t need anymore, people would give! I say we test that theory and make the entire year of 2015 a year to give… not just around the end of it!
Give your time, money, or clothes, anything you can give throughout the whole year can be put to good use. Not only are you helping those in need, but you are helping yourself by becoming less selfish, which in turn helps the entire community. If every community were less selfish, the entire nation’s morale could change for the better, and maybe eventually change the world in a positive way. It could happen, and it will happen if we can commit to GIVING all year, every year.
