Whatever “the Christmas spirit” is, it is decidedly not embodied by the horrible task of spending time and money searching out gifts you’re pretty sure the recipient doesn’t need and may not even want.
It’s a wonderful feeling to find something you know is just right for a friend or loved one. But when you’re stuck trying to find something for the “person who has everything,” why not consider gifting someone else in their name instead?
You’ve heard of buying goats, chickens, or school books for families in developing countries. But one close-to-home opportunity that warms the heart of giver and givee alike is offered by the seasonal Homeless Partners website.
The organization has collected stories and gift requests from residents of shelters in North Vancouver and other areas around metro Vancouver. Here’s a typical story, from Morris:
Morris is in his sixties. He was born in Courtenay, B.C., but has been in the Vancouver area since 1972 for work. Morris worked in sheet metal. His biggest challenge right now is maintaining personal security. It is his family that helps him feel most encouraged.
Morris’s request is for running shoes or jeans. A donor can pledge one or both of these gifts, and drop them off at the housing shelter with a card for Morris (drop-off instructions are provided). There are dozens of other stories on the site, with more added as the month progresses.
So, rather than struggling to find gifts for the “have it all” people in your lives, bring some peace and cheer to your shopping by pledging a gift that you know will be well-used, and much appreciated.
Here’s what one shelter resident said about the experience of receiving a gift through this initiative:
The most encouraging thing is knowing that people care. I find it really encouraging that total strangers could care so much about someone they don’t even know.
If that sounds like the kind of Christmas spirit you’d like to share, visit the Homeless Partners website soon!
Before my son was born my husband and I had very little experience with children and babies, so when my son came into this world shouting at the top of his lungs and refusing to be out of our arms, we were a bit panicked, to put it mildly. My pre-birth visions had been of a peacefully sleeping baby rocking in a bassinet, while I blissfully looked on. And while I felt more love for this little being than for anything in my life, I definitely needed to readjust my expectations of what motherhood was going to be like.The idea for the books came to me, seemingly, out of the blue about the time my son was six years old. I had not been actively thinking about writing a series of children’s books, but what had been percolating in the back of my mind for many years was the desire to create something that helped parents feel more connected to what it means to be a parent.
