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altruism, Compassion, Gratitude, Happy Thanksgiving, Humanitarian Programs, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, World Food Programme, World Hunger
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Traditions are an important part of memories.
Take a moment and think back to some of the traditions you have been a part of…
One of my cherished memories is that of baking a variety of cookies with my mother over the Christmas season. After each batch was baked, the cookies were carefully stored in the freezer until the night we decorated our tree. That night we took the goodies out of the freezer and arranged them on cheerful holiday plates. Hot chocolate was brewed and served with the much awaited cookies, but only after the tree was decorated. The anticipation was overwhelming. It was so much fun that I chose to keep this tradition with my children and now my grandchildren. I can honestly say it’s as much fun today as it was when I was a child, but more importantly, it brings family members together and strengthens our bonds.
What about Thanksgiving?
In my house as well as many others, the Thanksgiving feast takes center stage. For the past couple of years I’m embarassed to admit Black Friday shopping has begun to take root. After dinner, newspapers are laid out on the floor and the hunt begins for the best “deals.” Kids look at the ads and begin their holiday wish lists while the the shopping strategy is formulated.
Contrast that with a different tradition…
…Last year about this time I read about a neat little project that a beautiful friend of mine was doing. It is a desire of her heart to help eradicate hunger in children. She told us that for only .25 cents, a child would be provided a school lunch in a red cup by the World Food Program. This may be all the food they eat in a day.
Our family wanted to try and help and see what we could do so we decided to join the Thanksgiving “Cup” Campaign. We found three cups. One for the grandchildren, one for our children and one for Bob and I. We all looked for spare change in the bottom of purses and pockets, drawers, in the car, and under the couch.
Little ones came with coins in their hands and dropped them one by one into their cup and each time they did we talked about who may benefit from “their” coins.
On Thanksgiving day we all gathered together and counted “our change”. The children made piles of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters on the floor and counted nearly $100 dollars. In a few short weeks we had “found” and collected enough change to provide 400 school meals for children somewhere in the world.
Isn’t that great.
Thanksgiving is the season of harvest; a time to be mindful of our abundance. It’s a time to reflect on being “thankful” for all that we have. Part of counting our blessings is knowing that our lives could be very different. If we slow down long enough, it is easy to see the contrast between the haves and the have nots.
We mustn’t forget the forgotten. There exists almost a billion people in the world who do not know where their next meal is coming from.
This Thanksgiving we invite you to begin a new Thanksgiving Tradition by joining the Pioneers of Peace Thanks”Giving” Cup Campaign.
66 million children go to school hungry every day. 25 cents feeds a child. $1.00 feed 4 children. $10.00 feeds 40 children. $20.00 feeds 80 children.
http://my.wfpusa.org/popthanksgivingcupcampaign
Tips for Making the Donation Process as Easy as Pumpkin Pie
1. Become familiar with Pioneers of Peace’s direct link to WFPUSA early. It’s important that you donate through this link so we can measure the good we have collectively accomplished. Here is the link: http://my.wfpusa.org/popthanksgivingcupcampaign
2. If you don’t have a Paypal account, you may want to open one. It’s a safe and easy way to pay directly from your checking account and there are no fees. Here is link: PayPal
On our link there are also options for credit and debit cards
4. Go to your bank in advance and ask them what their procedure is for transferring change into dollars. Most banks have change counting machines that make this process very easy.
5. After counting your change on Thanksgiving day, donate the equivalent through our link, and then the next day, deposit your change into your bank account to reimburse yourself.
6. You can also find out where your local CoinStar machine is and exchange your coins for cash. Just know CoinStar will take a percentage of your money.
7. Calculate how many meals you have donated, and know that as you sit down to your own feast, you have provided much needed school meals to children all over the world.
Other Important Information:
When you donate on our direct link, DO NOT donate anonymously. We want to thank you for your kindness.
When you donate on our direct link you will receive an email receipt from WFPUSA for your tax records .
The first 50 people to donate will receive an authentic red cup as a thank you gift. (One cup per household)
We’d like to thank you in advance for joining us in doing our part to end hunger this Thanksgiving season.
As Mother Teresa said…
May this Thanksgiving be a joyous one and the beginning of a new tradition of putting the “Giving” into Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone and may you always find your cup half full 🙂
Love,
Barbara
P.S. If you haven’t had a chance yet to see my new blog hop on over and take a look http://www.pioneersofpeace.org
“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”
Barbara Scoville, LCSW 