I want to start by saying the hugest, most heartfelt thank you for reading and following along for the last 12 days but even more than that, thank you for following my journey. I am the luckiest to have each and everyone of you cheering me on. You support means so much to me and appreciate it more than I can explain here.
I always end my 12 Days of Christmas with ways to give back. I am an extremely fortunate person and the holidays reminds me that giving back in any way I can is my duty. I want happiness, joy, warmth and love to touch every single person over the holidays and I believe that if we all do one or two small acts of kindness the ripple effect of that can touch so many lives.
There are endless ways to give back and they don't all need to cost money.
Use What You Have
Go through your home and donate any clothing (especially winter clothing) you no longer use or need. Get the whole family involved and let the kids help so that they learn early the joys of giving.
Collect all of your bottles and cans over the holidays and donate the money to any organization you appreciate the work they do. This is another wonderful thing to get your kids on board for!
Arrange for the Restore to come remove any furniture you no longer need.
Agencies make it very easy for you to donate to support their initiatives.
The Gift of Time
Donating your time at the food bank, doing a food drive, serving meals at a shelter, shovelling a neighbours driveway, help a senior in your community run their errands... there are endless ways to volunteer your time. I encourage you to think of the skills you can share and find the right way to donate those to someone in need!
Join A Gifting Program
There are many gifting programs in every community. These programs range from adopting an entire family and providing them with gifts, household items, and a meal to taking a name off of a tree for either a senior or a child. My favourite gifting programs are:
Adopt-A-Family
I like to go through CP Kids & Families in Calgary.
These families have a child with Cerebral Palsy and have been selected to take part in the Christmas program. As a person living with a disability, I know the huge amount of extra costs attached to special equipment and support required. My Sister, Mom, girlfriends, and I have been adopting a family for many years and this has become all of our favourite tradition.
Adopt-A-Senior
This is a more affordable option than the Adopt-A-Family option and it takes a lot less time to coordinate because the lists are shorter and you can only fill one single box. It is fun to maximize the room in the box and hopefully get things that will bring your senior some joy! I get my senior through London Drugs. Get your name on the list so you are contacted next year when they are assigning the seniors to donors.
However you can give, please do! The world needs all of the kindness and generosity we can pour into it. Say thank you, have patience, take your time, give someone a compliment, buy the raffle ticket from the local kid's sports team, smile at a stranger... just spread joy!
Thank you for being amazing. Thank you for being part of my community. Thank you for spreading kindness. I appreciate each and every one of you and I thank you for reading right to the very end of my 12 Days of Christmas Blog series. My cup is full of joy and now it's time to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
With so much love,
XO
DS