In The Spirit of Giving

The true spirit of Christmas is the spirit of giving.

With 2012 quickly approaching, I've had the opportunity to reflect on the past ways that Little Tree Hugger has shown the "Christmas spirit", regardless of the time of year:

We've sanctioned auctions with 100% of the proceeds going to local charities (2010 was Santa's Anonymous and 2011's charity of choice was Basically Babies).

We've donated cloth diapers to an orphanage via Monkey Doodlez (thanks to everyone who donated items so we could send a combined parcel to Monkey Doodlez, where they sorted and delivered the diapers to the orphanage).

We heard about a devastating fire in which a local customer lost all of her family's belongings, including their cloth diapers.  We donated a few new diapers to help get their baby back in cloth.

We donated our remaining boxes of Broody Chick Compostable Diapers to families in need after the fires in Slave Lake this year.  We also picked up some personal care items to send along with the diapers.

We've given toys to the Beaumont and Nisku Christmas Elves program.

I've often heard that January and February are tough months for charities as the need and demand is still there, yet donations quickly take a down-turn during those months.  

As January quickly approaches, keep in mind how fortunate we all are.  I feel most fortunate to have a healthy family, a safe home to live in, and an abundance of food in the pantry and clothes in the closet.  Not every family is as fortunate, and I challenge you to open your hearts and continue to give.  It does not need to be money - most organizations will accept goods (food, clothes, etc), and almost all will accept time (volunteer).

You must be the change you want to see in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

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