Serve Together | being generous this holiday season
As we move in to the holiday season we start thinking about all the things we are thankful for. It is easy to get busy with life in the already hectic time in the midst of a pandemic, but if we think about the holidays at a deeper level it is all about the people Jesus came to save who surround us. Although this holiday season will be so different from any other, it is possible to take time to recognize how many blessings we actually have in our lives.
This season is a beautiful time with bountiful opportunities to give back in our Grand Rapids community to those that might not be so fortunate. Below are some ideas of what you and your family can do together to serve those in our local community and abroad.
Get crafty | A simple way to serve during this time is by decorating bags for Kids Food Basket. Kids Food Basket is an amazing organization that helps feed thousands of children dinner who may otherwise go without. They have a great need for large brown paper bags and they are still accepting decorated lunch bags by mail. Click here for more specifics on decorating bags for KFB.
Organize & donate | Pre-Christmas is a great time to de-clutter! Closets, kitchen cupboards, that closet that seems to be overflowing—nothing is off limits. If you don’t use it and it’s in good condition—kind it a new home! The pandemic has hit people hard and donation centers have been a great resource for people needing to get items at a cheaper price, especially with Christmas coming.
When choosing where to donate the items spend time as a family researching each donation site and seeing where the money goes and what impact that has either on the local or global community. Organizations we love to donate our used items to are World Mission and Love Inc.
Shop ‘til you drop | Play Santa and go shopping with your elves for some items off of HQ’s wish list. HQ is an organization in Grand Rapids that helps people ages 14-24 years old who have a housing crisis. HQ provides them a place to do things like laundry, take a shower, and provides everyone who comes in a warm meal.
If your family is not comfortable going out shopping during this time, there are still other ways to get involved with the mission of HQ through your own shopping. Consider signing up for Amazon Smile through AmazonSmile-Grand Rapids HQ. If you do this, .5% of the price of the money you spend on your own items will be donated to HQ.
Gifts that give | Lastly, a way to serve and support ministries that are doing amazing work is by being mindful of where you shop for gifts this holiday season. Places like Better Way Designs, Better Life Bags, ABLE, Generous Coffee, 31 Bits, and many other companies support life-changing ministries and causes. Your purchase will be more than just a cute bag—it could help free a woman from sex trafficking. So cool! Give gifts you’ll feel good about this Christmas season.
Serving together is a wonderful practice to do as a family. Where you serve does not matter near as much as the reason of why we do it, which is because we have the ultimate giver as our father, Jesus.
I hope you and your family have a blessed holiday season!
About the author: Amanda Bos
Amanda Bos is the Resident at the East Paris Campus this year.