volunteering

7 Days Till Christmas – Giving Back

/ christinaparisi / 1 Comment

Today was interesting. And an opportunity to spread some holiday cheer a la’ spur of the moment.

A little backstory first.

I volunteer and one of the events I signed up for was to deliver a holiday gift bag to someone either elderly or disabled.

I picked up my bag dutifully by the deadline and set out today to plan for delivery.

“Hello, may I speak with XX?”

“She’s not here, thank you…” (Tries to hang up #1)

“Excuse me… Sorry to bother. May I leave a message?”

“No, I’m sorry. I’m not near a pen. But I’m sure we’ll hear about you if we need to…” (Tries to hang up #2)

“I am very sorry. I am calling from XX and I am the volunteer for them. I’ve been assigned to deliver a holiday gift bag for XX and I would love make sure she has it before Christmas. At her convenience, of course.”

Silence.

“I’m not in town. But the neighbor to the west when facing the garage, is friendly and will accept it. Or you can leave it at the doorstep.” (Tries to hang up #3)

“Oh wonderful! I’ll see what looks safe and will do exactly that. Thank you. I’d just want to get the present to her before Christmas.”

Silence.

“Thank you so much. That is very kind. Happy holidays to you.”

“Happy holidays to you also!”

7 Days tills Christmas!

#givingbackblogseries #giving back

 

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10 Days Till Christmas – Giving Back

/ christinaparisi / 2 Comments

It’s been a long week. From working more shifts at the restaurant than normal to publishing three different articles on three different sites to writing two chapters of my book to starting this blog series, I admit I’ve spread myself a little thin this week.

This dawned on me when I saw my husband wasn’t very happy with me when I showed up to the volunteer event we were doing to pack holiday packages to families in need, a little late. I also went into “do it” mode, which meant I focused on the task at hand to just get the job done.

He reminded me part of “giving back” is being in the moment and enjoying it, not just getting the job done.

I love that about him. He balances me. He grounds me.

I know this blog series is about giving back and I did attempt to today by going to One Voice LA and spending two hours packing holiday dinner boxes for families in need but I failed too. I did the action but lost the spirit. I was exhausted and it showed.

Sigh. I said I would always be honest in my blog writing so here it is. The truth.

I think right now I should go give my husband a kiss and give back to him. He shows me the holiday spirit everyday and I am so fortunate for that. And I hope the work I did tonight packing those boxes will help make other’s holidays a little brighter.

But I am human.

“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.” -William James, philospher (1842-1910)

 

10 days till Christmas!!

#givingbackblogseries #givingback

25 Days of Spreading Love – A countdown to Christmas: Dec. 18

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For the original idea, please go here.

7 Days till Christmas – spreading love by volunteering

My husband and I wanted to volunteer our time this holiday season to help those who are less fortunate.

In Santa Monica, there is a wonderful organization called One Voice LA. They help families at poverty level within our local communities. Every year they do a Holiday Food Program. Children receive toys and books and adults receive an overflowing basket of food. Tonight, my husband and I were two of the many volunteers it takes to make this happen. Along with people of all ages and cultures, we filled boxes full of food and then helped load them onto trucks. People from all walks of life, varying in ages and races, got to work tonight.

This is a four-day event and there are two more days left. Perhaps if you are in the area, you might consider volunteering as well. Information can be found here.

A beautiful part of humanity is the fact that we are all in this together.

The older I get, the more I realize, the holiday spirit is one of family, gratitude and philanthropy.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
– Aesop

Spread the love. #spreadthelove