Paying it Forward in December 2014 in Lewisburg WV
Here is my December challenge post for paying it forward during the holiday season. I try to pay it forward helping others throughout the year. Lewisburg WV has the best people.... everyone helps others in need. We have so many charities throughout the year, and believe me they are ALL a success. My act of kindness for the year includes volunteering, donating, giving cash or time, collecting items for feed the need community food drive, baking, etc.
Our Greenbrier Valley Board of Realtors completed the 4th annual community food drive. The food drive starts in November and ends the second week in December. Each year I volunteer at the Kroger's Store collecting non-perishable items and cash. It is always fun and yes somewhat tiring asking people to help feed the hungry. I remember one man saying he needs help putting food on his table. My remarks were something like..."when you go in and buy food for your family, bring me an extra can of food to help others have food on their table. When he came out of the store, he had two cans of soup. I thanked him for his generosity. Every can or dollar helps. We did this from 11 am til 3 pm.
The last event for the Feed the Need Food Drive, is a live auction at our Christmas and Awards Luncheon. This is the third year for the auction. Starting in November I go to the local businesses and ask for donations for the auction. This year I received 18 donated items from:
Alan Anderson, Anderson Consulting & Design, The Front Porch, Bella, the Gourmet Shop, Laurie Larson. Cooper Gallery, Pittis Pottery, Suzanne Perilli Hancock Interiors (SPHI), Osage Pecan Company of Lewisburg, Harmony Ridge Gallery, Focus On You, Washington Street Gallery; and donations from the Greenbrier Shops were Atlantis Leather, Virtu Studio Gallery, Gibsons, Mackenzie-Dow Fine Furniture, and Appalachian Moon Woodworks.
The asking for donations is very time consuming and I also add the donations to our Facebook page. The local merchants have always been very giving and providing some great gifts for the auction.
I also did two shoe boxes for children that are sent to different countries. Our church collected over 60+ shoe boxes. This was fun....I did one for a boy and one for a girl. Items purchased were small stuffed animals, hard candy, toothbrush, toothpaste, crayons, pencils, notebooks, toys, and socks. We were asked to provide $10 for each box as well. I heard there were 60,000 shoe boxes sent to kids around the world. How great is that!
As a member of the Lewisburg United Methodist Church, I said I would help a family at Christmas. The Church's out-reach ministry is Wellspring, an organization that help families in need. Wellspring is a 501c3 non-profit organization that assists the working poor, homeless, transient and other people living in poverty throughout the Greenbrier County. So the last thing I did in December to pay it forward was to buy Christmas presents for a family. The family only wanted clothes for their 2-year daughter and for an infant (her baby is due in February). I purchased an infant seat, diapers, baby clothes, socks; and for the daughter I found the cutest outfits, a pair of shoes, and socks. I got everything they requested on the list. This was a fun day!
Paying it Forward in December 2014 in Lewisburg WV -
Pay It Forward ActiveRain Challenge For December
Comments(18)