Most of us look forward to the holiday of Thanksgiving. It is a time when families get together and there is the sound of laughter and happiness all around. It is truly a blessing to be able to sit with our families members around the table and give thanks and eat together. Very few are lucky enough to experience the joy of being with your loved ones on Thanksgiving. A number of families are not fortunate enough to afford to even eat their basic meals during the holidays, let alone have the opportunity to enjoy a big Thanksgiving meal with their families. For many of them, it is just a day like any other and they only think of ways to bring food to the table so that their family members don’t go hungry.
A woman in Alexandria realized that Thanksgiving may not always be a time for celebrations in every household. She realized that there were people out there who go hungry even on the wondrous and joyous occasion of Thanksgiving. While celebrations for Thanksgiving are taking place everywhere, there are some families who struggle to make ends meet and holiday meals may not exactly fit in this budget. The woman decided to do her part for Thanksgiving. She decided to feed 500 families on the holiday.
The key to implementing the project is to feed the families one food box at a time. It started nearly eight years ago and the target for this year was to feed 500 families. The project is named Project Giveback and is closely associated with the schools in the city, churches, and the department of Family Services.
Kia Davis, the woman behind the project definitely did not want to see families going hungry during Thanksgiving and started working to raise money to help out such families. The project provides food boxes to families that do not earn much. The food box is healthy, costs around $70, and the best part is that it can feed an entire of four for two whole weeks. Kia says that she does not find it fair that people have to go without food at any given time in the year and especially not during the holiday which is why she is trying to do what she can to help out.
A lot of the work went into raising the funds. It is not easy and sometimes it may be harder to convince some people of the reality than it is to convince others. They also have a tough time finding volunteers to help them out during the holidays. No one wants to spend time away from their families especially, during holidays like Thanksgiving. Project Giveback requires people to pack the food inboxes and deliver them before Thanksgiving so that the less fortunate families can celebrate their Thanksgiving as well.
Often, we fail to realize the importance of giving back. We may lose sight of how lucky we are to be able to celebrate the holidays with our family and friends. Many times we forget about the people around us even as we sit for Thanksgiving dinner to enjoy the big, hearty meal that our family managed to put on your table. Thanksgiving is the time to give thanks, to be grateful. Let your thanks not be limited to prayers. Show that you are truly grateful for your blessings by taking some time out of your busy schedule to help out the people around you. It need not be huge gestures. Maybe a helper at work cannot afford a huge dinner for his family, or you might have seen a child scavenging for food on the streets. You can help out your colleague by offering to sponsor a meal for his or her family. You can buy dinner for the hungry child. It does not always need to be big. The key to giving lies in the small things. The joy of knowing that someone else is able to celebrate Thanksgiving in the best way possible, or the look in the eyes of the child whose stomach is full. It these things that matter and make a difference. No one should go hungry during the holidays.
Even if such things might be difficult, there are other ways to do your part for the society. You can volunteer with nonprofit organizations like Project Giveback. They could always use more helping hands. You could also make donations in the form of monetary benefits. This would help such organizations and the families they are helping in a big way. Count your blessing this holiday season and don’t forget your part in helping and extending your hand to the others around you.
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