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A little Christmas magic

a-little-christmas-magic

The other day, I wrote about being present to witness the joy and miracles that are all around us this holiday season. No sooner had I finished that post, when I received an email which had been forwarded to me. The email came from a woman named Jamie to her friend Steve.

Jamie wrote to Steve telling him that she would be going home to Philadelphia for the holidays and would be visiting an elderly nun, named Sr. Helen, who had been a wonderful influence on Jamie in high school. Sr. Helen was elderly and now had no family left and would be alone on Christmas.

Jamie remembered that Steve’s daughters attended a sister school in California, where Sr. Helen had worked years ago. Her request was simple, was there anyone at the school who might have remembered Sr. Helen and who would be willing to write a note or a Christmas card? The only Christmas gift that Jamie knew would touch Sr. Helen’s heart and remind her of all she had done for so many over the years.

I received the email and immediately forwarded it to the sister school, where I am an alumna. Within moments, a reply all came back from an angelic woman, named Angela.  Angela would be thrilled to spread the good word and pull together messages of love for Sr. Helen to be delivered on Christmas day.

One woman’s kindness, sparked another’s and another’s and the result will be pure Christmas magic for an elderly woman who will be reminded that she is not alone but rather the spark to a flame of goodness. Pure Christmas magic…..

 

Charity Matters.

 

Copyright © 2016 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

 

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Homelessness and Hunger

Are you hungry?

LA food bank tonyimageThe power of one is a concept that always intrigues me. How can one person create so much change? How can one idea create something that feeds one million people a year? The thought is humbling, empowering and pure inspiration.

The “one” I am talking about is a man named Tony Collier. He was a cook who saw leftovers going to waste and decided to do something about it. Sound simple enough? As a cook, for a Los Angeles based non-profit, Tony received more donations than he needed.  So, he decided he needed to share his leftovers with other charities that were trying to feed the hungry as well.  Tony had heard about a food bank in Phoenix that had done something similar and decided to bring that model to Los Angeles and founded Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in 1973.

From the very beginning the 200 square foot garage quickly filled up and soon had to move into a converted 2,600 square foot dry cleaning facility in Pasadena. By the early 1980’s Tony’s simple idea was distributing more than 3.5 million pounds of food to over 70 different agencies in LA.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt6QJobSbww]

Today, The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank distributes 51 million pounds of food or the equivalent of 42.4 million meals. The LA Food Bank served over 1 million people last year with the help of 32,000 volunteers.

One man’s simple idea is no longer housed in a garage but now resides in a 96,000 square foot facility that distributes the food to over 653 different agencies throughout the LA area. One man, one idea and a legacy of compassion that continues to inspire.

Charity Matters.

  Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Ways to make a difference

Why I write

writingEach week I sit down at my computer and write. Sometimes its a story about an incredible person who shaped our world and made an impact, other days its simply a quote or a thought that I feel compelled to share with you. And some days I wonder why? Why do I feel so compelled to do this?

Since I’m in the sharing mood, I think there are a few reasons that I write. First and foremost, at my core I am a communicator. Whether its my motor mouth, or talking with my hands or through these keys, it is simply who I am.

More than that, I write to remind myself of who I need to continue to strive to be and become. I write about my heroes, people who have taken a problem and turned it into a solution that impacts thousands of others in incredible ways.

Writing broadens my world and brings people and situations into my life, in ways I never imagined. Charity Matters has given me such purpose and my hope is that is has brought some to you as well. As I say every week, we all have gifts. Finding those gifts, recognizing what they are and sharing them in ways to make our world better is just simply what it’s all about.

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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