Suggestions for ways to express the spirit of giving during
the holidays?
Q: [Our family will be in Chelsea] for
the Christmas holiday. I have two young children (8 & 9)
and would like to do something with them that expresses the holiday
spirit of giving, whether it's visiting a home for the elderly, creating
a gift basket for a needy family, etc. Would you have any ideas/suggestions?
A: Thank you for asking such
a good question! Here are some suggestions and contact information that
will hopefully help you find just the right thing for your family to
help out during the holidays (or any time, for that matter!)
- Faith in Action, which is the best
known charitable organization here in Chelsea, can use help during
the holidays. They need people to "shop" at
their location for gifts for specific ages and needs. For example,
a list might say "9 year old daughter " or "47 year
old dad " and then you find a gift for the people in that family.
Then you'd help package the items and label the bags for the
caseworkers who will deliver them to the families.
The woman to contact about this project is Nancy Paul. She can be
reached at Faith In Action at (734) 475-3305.
- There is Christmas Day Dinner held at
the Our Savior Lutheran Church on 12/25. They could use people to
help serve, clean up, etc. I don't know much about this event, but
you can reach the church at (734) 475-1404 or also speak to
Faith In Action (above) about helping out.
- Visit to one of the senior homes - There
are sure to be some residents who are alone and might enjoy a
visit. Your idea of bringing a gift basket is great, too. Here are
the ones I know of:
- Contact Alpha House, which is a homeless shelter
to see if there is anything you can do to help out while you are
here. www.alphahouse-ihn.org
- One other idea for you, that isn't directly
involved in a community activity, is to give the kids a budget and
have them shop for items to donate. I did this with my children and
last month. I gave them each $10 and had them select canned, boxed
and dry goods from the grocery store. We then drove them over to
Faith In Action and donated them. We talked about how our family
is very blessed to have food on the table and toys to play with,
and how not everyone is so lucky. It was a good lesson for them in
many ways (charity, budgeting, math, nutrition, menu planning...),
and we all felt good about the afternoon's adventure.
Many happy wishes to you for a great holiday
season! Please feel free to email me if you have any more questions.
Take care and happy holidays!
~Leslie
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