This Christmas was full of the typical family parties and traditions as normal. It was really relaxing to have my finals over with and get to enjoy the day with loved ones.
My favorite part of this holiday break would be the opportunity I had to give back. My sister is an MSW and works with the local Homeless Shelter. On Christmas Eve I had the privilege to assist her with some of the things she does. One of them being, collecting new toys for the families that had no place to go for Christmas and were living in the shelter. It was a very rewarding experience because I was able to see first hand how many families really needed help this season, and try to make their holidays a little bit better.
We collected clothes, warm blankets and small toys for the kids that were in the shelter. Each of the volunteers were given an age and a name of a child that was staying there. We then took a large bag around through the donation room and collected the items that were of use to this particular child.
There were shelves filled with pink dolls and barbies for little girls, and trucks and superhero figures for the little boys. There was another area that we collected small items to fill stockings such as; coloring books, crayons, chalk, short novels, and candy.
It was amazing to see the organization of it all. Every item and firstly been donated, which was incredible, and secondly each item had been organized for the volunteers to then collect, for the appropriate child. The time and preparation to orchestrate something like this was impressive.
Santa is cool and all, but my sister is cooler. I can't believe that she does this everyday, she is really making a difference in the world.
