Like so many others, our family has been searching for a way to share our good fortune over the holidays. It is a humbling endeavor.

So many worthy causes let their need be known this time of year. So many other obligations compete for our time and money and concentration. It is as difficult to choose as it is to commit.

One idea in the Doing Good Together family volunteer newsletter from December made the choice easy for us this year. (Subscribe here if you don’t already get their handy, monthly ideas.)

The Metro Homeless Youth Programs of Lutheran Social Services assists youth ages 16 to 21 and their children, providing them with shelter, food, clothes, household and personal items, life and parenting skills, education, and support while moving toward stability.

LSS looks for sponsors every October through December to provide gifts of basic household and personal supplies, as well as the warmth of knowing someone in the community cares about their well-being.

As sponsors, we were given a Wish List from the youth and child assigned to us, along with a reasonable spending range, and with that, we were off on a bit of a shopping spree. This was a whole family endeavor that got everyone thinking about how good it feels to give, how much we have to share, and how much more we wish we could offer.

This was a heartbreaking venture as well. I have talked about homelessness in the past with Miss Kindergarten and Little Miss Three, but before it has always seemed abstract, and always an adult’s concern. The idea that a very young mother and her baby might have no where to go on Christmas was a difficult concept to unwrap for them.

As my partner and I tucked our little girls into cozy beds on the snowiest night in a decade, we couldn’t help but struggle with the idea ourselves.

Neither girl dwelt on the subject too long, however. They were eager to move on to the shopping, and they seemed satisfied that the good people at LSS would help our sponsored youth find a safe place to land. They delighted in picking out cozy sleepers, baby blankets, bottles, and pacifiers, along with the simple things the mother’s wish list. Tonight, we drop off the happy collection of goodies and appropriate wrapping materials with the folks at the Metro Homeless Youth Programs, and let them coordinate the unveiling at their Christmas celebration.

This emotionally-laden, heartwarming gift-giving opportunity will hopefully become a family tradition in the years to come.

Tags: Charitable Giving, Improving Lives

About Sarah

Sarah Aadland is striving to make family volunteering a meaningful habit for her family of five. Join the conversation as she ponders what they may (or may not have) learned and looks for helpful information about raising compassionate kids.Though she plans to one day put her Masters in Public Policy back to work for social justice, she sees family volunteering as a way to build a stronger community, a better world, and a more connected family. In addition to her children, Sarah tends a large garden, a small flock of chickens, and a habit of mindfulness amid the necessary rituals of parenting.

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