Welcome to days 6 and 7! Did you read everyone's childhood holiday memories? Once again, we were so impressed with the time and effort people put into sharing their magical Christmas experiences. What a great reminder to work really hard at making special memories for our own children.
The daily winner for yesterday is Quynh D. We loved her present-peeking confessional and so a Farmhouse Fresh gift is waiting for her. We will be in touch Quynh!
Day Six & Seven Challenge
This weekend's challenge is about giving back. It's about reaching out to people in your immediate community who are in need. On both Saturday and Sunday we want you to make the holidays better for someone else. Come back here and tell us about your two good deeds by Monday morning at 7am.
Comments
Donated clothes & Blood!
to add to my earlier post and add to it…on saturday, I donated christmas toys, and on sunday, I helped my sister (who’s recovering from pneumonia) with her christmas shopping, and also did some of my mother’s shopping for her. :)
On Saturday I participated in “Toys For Tats”. Bringing a $40 toy in return for a tattoo. So much fun and they seemed to collect quite a few toys! And tonight I let someone in front of me at a concert. He was a big fan and someone tall stepped in front of him. So I let him go in front of me so he could see.
Saturday was a food bank donation and Sunday was a parking ticket for someone so they wouldn’t have to pay to park. I know Sunday wasn’t the typical giving back to those in need…
Inspired by your challenge I have collected a huge rubbermaid container full of barely used baby toys & books from my house to donate to our local community daycare.
At first I was a little worried about this one, as I was traveling by plane through all of Saturday and getting over jet lag on Sunday, but then I realized good deeds are done everywhere.
While traveling I helped a young woman with her check-in at the airport and I entertained a baby on the 9 hour flight, giving her tired parents a bit of a break. Prior to the flights I helped with the Food Bank drive at work. We had a competition between floors of our office. A great way to raise more money for the food bank!
Good timing. I dropped off several new toys and books to the toy bank at the West Coast Express Santa train. You get a free ticket in exchange for the toy, we didn’t need the tickets, so we asked them to give the tickets to someone who forgot to bring a toy.
We gave some gently used costs and blankets and some $5 gift cards (Subway, Timmies) to Covenant House.
And we dropped of some groceries to the food bank.
On Saturday we wrapped and dropped off Christmas dresses for two young sisters and a winter coat for a young man. Their mom is recently single and struggling this year (our book club is sponsoring the family this Christmas) and on Sunday we committed to ongoing monthly donations to the Union Gospel Mission.
On Saturday I donated some canned goods to the food bank located at our local pool to distribute to local homeless families.
And on Sunday I built a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child.
I made some food for a friend so they can have a healthy meal, I donated to a charity that is important to me, I gathered up a bunch of old clothes and blankets that I will go donate tomorrow, and I dug out all our left over diapers that don’t fit my daughter anymore and took those and some food to the food bank.
On Saturday I went to my church and made Christmas hampers for families in need, that way both them and their families can enjoy a wonderful meal, and the kids can receive a few Christmas pressents.
And on Sunday I donated a bag of clothes to the Salvation Army.
Always good to recognize all the good people do around this time of the year. Thank you for allowing people to share it with each other.
My two things are small but I realize they will make someone happy and that’s all that matters. I donated blood which I’m pledging to do more often in the new year. The second was that I paid for the person behind me in the Starbucks drive through. I hope they had a fantastic day after that.
took time from this busy weekend to do something we meant to do for a long time: bundled up all the give-away clothes and drove them down to Covenant House, coats, scarves, gloves, pants that will make a few people more comfortable. Then this afternoon we did a mini-grocery for the food bank. And it all felt so good! thank you for the challenge.
Wow what a fantastic idea and what inspirational actions by so many. Helped me learn all what avail to donate to.
My act was simple: food for food bank. Hope it makes a small difference.
Saturday I went and donated money to charity for the Empty Stocking Fund and also to a pet shelter. However today I donated to someone who took my cell – so that lucky person got a Blackberry bold for free. Tis the season!
I went through all my books and donated them to Read to benefit for Cancer. I also donated a coffee table and a desk to a church that lets families who are just starting out use them and then when they are on their feet they donate them back so another family can use them.
I signed up for the Adopt-A-Family program through the Surrey Christmas Bureau and decided to get my entire office involved for a very needy family to provide them with a Christmas this year, I asked for a large family because I figured that they might not normally be picked. On Monday I will load everything up and deliver it to the Mom so that she can surprise her 5 children and give them a Christmas that she wouldn’t be able to do alone, this includes making sure that they have 3 full meals and a turkey dinner on Christmas Day. The second thing I did was talked to a bunch of friends and family, even the receptionist at my physiotherapist, basically anyone who I ran into and told them that I would pick up anything they wanted to donate and I’ve already delivered two ‘Mini-Van loads’ to Covenant House downtown, which was great because I also found out that anything that they aren’t able to use to help these poor kids that have been forced on the streets that then then donate it to Big Brothers Foundation, so its nice to know it will all go to people who need it.
We are a family of 4 , this is a cause close to our hearts <3 Every year no matter how little WE have , we know, there are people that have less , so as always -this weekend we donated some of our household items, gently used toys & clothes from my family, to the christmas hamper society in Maple Ridge. Then we made our first trip to see the CP Holiday Train, and brought items for the food bank . At the end of the day , I feel blessed knowing , all I need is my family and feel very fortunate to be able to give back .
This weekend we donated money to a family in need in Surrey, we give them a gift certificate for groceries every year! We also donated to the food bank and put money in a red kettle (my daughters favourite)
Sorry to say that I am unable to divulge what I have done because that goes against what is right. Not trying to be a pain here and if this disqualifies me please let me know.
Yesterday when I was grocery shopping at Safeway, I added 5 of the food bank donation vouchers to my total. And today I paid for the person behind me at McDonalds in the morning (tee hee) and then bagged up a lot of clothes to fill up the donation bins down the road from us. I had been overdue for a good closet cleanup and you gave me the best excuse to finally get it done :)
Thanks for the best challenge yet!
Thanks for inspiring us all to give more! :) I donated a new (cute) toddler dress to a family collecting things for a family in need. And today I simply warmed a heart by giving them chocolates :)
We sorted through all of our coats, hats, warm sweaters, boots this weekend so we could pass on the ones we don’t need to people who need a little extra warmth this winter. That was the easy part. With everywhere so busy and everybody in a rush I found it was hard not to get irritated by all the pushing and cutting off when out shopping today. But while I was exercising my patience a great opportunity came my way. I was one of two cars converging on a parking spot at the same time – I had a better angle and could easily have taken it but waved the gentleman in the other car in instead. When I passed him in the store later he stopped to thank me for “making his day”. And making his day actually made my day!
Each year our church creates an “Angel Wish Tree” that is displayed at the back of the church. There are many gift tags hanging from the tree, each with an age group and boy or girl on them. We are asked to pick a tag from the tree and then go out and purchase and wrap a gift for that child. I have 4 children and each of them choose one from the tree to shop for. That was our Christmas task for the weekend. :)
We also donated two garbage bags full of my girls clothes and gently used toys to our neighbour who is a young, single mom.
Loved this idea the minute you posted it. What a great idea to get people motivated to give something back.
I’ve been volunteering here and there for years, victim services, charity shops etc. But this weekend I did a lot extra. Yesterday I went to two old folks homes locally in NV and read to some old folks, drank tea and chatted. I had a really late “spring clean” and took two black bin bags full of stuff to the local charity shop. Went downstairs to talk to Mary on the first floor who I think is about 85 and offered to do her shopping. She was really grateful and it was pretty touching so I gave her my number and told her to call if she needs me.
Today my hubby and I went shopping and got all of our Christmas presents (yay done in half a day!) and bought a few blankets. As we were on our way home we stopped by some homeless people and gave them the blankets. It’s cold out and was the best thing i could think to do for them near Christmas.
Anyways, brilliant idea. Thanks, feels great doing something for others!
Today we dropped a big bag of new toys in the box for the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau at Oakridge. And then we donated to the Firefighters burn fun at Bright Lights tonight. And next week my daughter is donating half of her ‘two twoonie’ birthday present money to the Children’s Hospital, because, in her words, “that’s where I was born. And it will make Christmas better for a child who is sick over the holidays.”
Great idea to give back this weekend, girls! On Saturday I went and visited a relative in the hospital. She has been there for over 3 months and faces a very long and difficult recovery. It’s been tough on the entire family. We hung out in her room and looked out at our great city. I made her laugh. We teared up a bit, but in the end, I know I left her in better spirits than when I arrived.
This year I joined what I consider to be the community of motherhood when my son was born in January. So today I made a donation to the Vancouver Food Bank’s Basics for Babies campaign. This important program provides new mothers with the necessities that so many of us take our ability to purchase for our newborns for granted. I can’t begin to imagine worrying about whether I had enough formula or diapers for my child. Hopefully my donation means that someone doesn’t have to this year.
Thanks for the inspiration! Yesterday I dropped a load of new soaks and old coats for the homeless. Today, while grocery shopping I bought an extra bag of groceries for the food bank drop-box.
Before doing my own grocery shopping this weekend, I filled a basket for the food bank bin. And for several years there has been a young guy outside the London Drugs in my neighbourhood. Even though he is always respectful and polite, I often get annoyed when I see him and wonder why he doesn’t just get a job. Sure enough there he was today and while I was shopping I was thinking about him and this contest came to mind. I realized I don’t know what challenges he faces and I happened to have some cash on me, unusual for me, so when I got outside, I gave him enough so he can buy a few meals or some groceries. He seemed very suprised and grateful to be given paper money.
just returned from taking my 5 year old out to pick out and donate some toys (batman and joker won this year)
loved putting money in the salvation army bell
still more good deeds to come
Ronald McDonald house has my number:)
I’m not sure if this counts, as it isn’t exactly “in my community”. With a sick kid requiring my attention, I couldn’t really get out of the house, so we both looked at the World Vision site & purchased an alpaca for a family in Peru & also contributed towards Christmas dinner at the Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver.
Yesterday I dropped off an extra bag of groceries for the food bank and today anonymously paid for the latte of the person behind me in the Starbucks drive-thru. Merry Christmas!
Thinking of Bloom, I purchased and dropped off warm socks at two different charities. Then went and bought gloves to drop off as well. It’s cold enough outside, hopefully no one needs to have frostbite….
We went through the kids toys and put together a box of very gently used toys to donate to a the Baha’i Centre’s play room that was in desperate need of new toys and whenever we go to Marketplace IGA on Main/13th there is a homeless man that we stop and give a banana to but today we gave him a hot lunch and a chocolate Santa. Thanks for the encouragement to show my children what Christmas is really about :)
On our way to donate more items to the food bank.
This year, we’ve participated in several drop spots and the kids are really excited to be a part of giving back and seem to understand that the spirit of the season is about giving as well as receiving!
Wasn’t able to get out yesterday, but today I gave money to a local organization that helps out teen moms & dads with practical needs – learning how to budget & cook, etc. I also bought diapers to take to our local Pregnancy Options office tomorrow (they weren’t open this weekend).
My work Christmas party held a 50/50 draw where I participated and the proceeds went to the UGM, a wonderful organization! I also donated pyjamas to a pyjama drive for families in need this holiday season :)
- A few coworkers and I asked people to bring in donations for the women’s shelter to the office. We got bags and bags of clothes, shoes, makeup and hair products, etc. I took the opportunity to purge my closet and bathroom too. We dropped off our donations yesterday (and will likely have to make another trip! – apparently there is more coming)
- I was driving home last night around 11:30. It was raining and cold. There was a car broken down on the side of the highway, and a woman standing beside it looking upset. I pulled over and asked if she was OK or needed any help. She had run out of gas and her cell phone battery was dead. We were out in the burbs and nowhere close to a gas station so she was facing a very long walk! Anyway, I lent her my phone so she could call her boyfriend, then gave her a lift to the gas station where she filled up a jerry can and took her back to her car.
Little tricky as we are away in Mexico…but passed on our bag full of the girls sand sculpting toys to another family just arriving…and gave a big bonus/tip to the staff at the hotel that were so great to us:) will continue more at home on Monday!
Dropped off food bank donations and did Christmas shopping for a sponsor family in our community. It’s this time of year that you really realize just how fortunate you are.
Today, we were inspired by Granville Island’s fantastic Santa to donate toys to children in need.
We also packed up boxes of clothes and diapers to donate to local charities.
I love the idea of paying for the person in front of you at the store. Need to find a way to make this happen.
Also, I keep extra change in my pockets to drop into the Salvation Army buckets when I walk by.
Today I switched shifts with a co-worker so she could spend Christmas with her family and went through my closet and bundled up some clothes and blankets to drop off at my local salvation army. Tomorrow I’m attending a yoga by donation class nearby!
Today we opted to buy our tree where proceeds went to a charity. Aunt Leah’s Christmas Tree Lots dedicate 100% of their profits to fund programs that help prevent children in foster care from becoming homeless, and young mothers from losing custody of their children.
Other things we have done this season include donating a box of toys and goodies to Union Gospel Mission as well as donating non-perishable food items to the food bank and items for specific families Christmas hampers.
Look forward to paying it forward and giving back some more tomorrow too!
this weekend, I’ve donated christmas toys, and also paid for the person behind me in the starbucks drive-thru. :)
this week, I am attending three charity yoga classes, with all proceeds going to the food bank, and the delta hospice society. all good causes.
Well, today we got together all of our new and gently used toys to donate to the Easter Seals House (they are holding their donation drop-off Christmas party on Dec 22nd). Tomorrow we plan to drop off the clothes that we have collected to the Salvation Army.
“Present Moments Make the Best Presents”. “Years from now most people won’t remember what “stuff” they got or gave, but they will remember a kind word, emotional generosity, and feelings of appreciation.” I have worked 10 nights already this month at the homeless shelter in Ladner hoping to be that person in someone’s life that is looking for someone to be ‘present’ in their life…if only for a short time. And nights that I am not there, I am making sure that my family enjoys the time we have together savouring this Christmas season.
Well, it’s before noon and I just finished my 2nd task! It was tough deciding what to do!
- went and donated blood! - packed up some jackets, blankets and sheets, and dropped them off at our local food bank to distribute!Thank you for this meaningful challenge! I recently briefly saw a family in the emergency department who’s little boy was just diagnosed with leukemia. I came up to his room to visit the next day and was so heart broken to realized that this little family will spend the whole holiday going through treatment and all its challenges. I wanted to just cheer the little boy up a bit so came back the next day to visit again, with a wrapped up toy to distract him somewhat. Secondly, just before I left for my visit in MTL, I gathered up 3 blankets and a bunch of sweaters to be picked up and distributed to homeless people in in Vancouver.
Going to a charity fitness class on Sat. – giving extra food to the food bank – and inviting extra people to xmas dinner that dont have a place to be