Tagged by: Feeding America Tampa Bay

Teach Your Children Well…

It is never too early to start logging your community service hours and if you are 10 years old with a goal of getting into University of Florida, you might want to think about starting NOW!  My son wants to be a Gator and knows he has to earn his way to crocodilian status.  We are working now on improving his curriculum vitae.

Brooks recently celebrated his 10th birthday, which was a significant milestone.  Not only is ten “double digits,” but it is also the minimum age required to volunteer at Feeding America Tampa Bay.  I love food; my son loves food.  I work for Feeding America; now, my son volunteers there.

Brooks moves boxes in his University of Florida "swamp" shirt.

Brooks moves boxes in his University of Florida “swamp” shirt.

A few weeks ago, Brooks worked at a Mobile Pantry location where we delivered over 300 boxes of food to hungry families in less than two hours.  He was in charge of separating and moving boxes.  In full-blown, sweaty work-mode, Brooks managed to show his leadership and delegation skills like I had never seen before.  I was incredibly proud!

Brooks raised $96 in two hours at Winn Dixie in Madeira Beach.  That provides 672 meals!

Brooks raised $96 in two hours at Winn Dixie in Madeira Beach. That provides 672 meals!

Yesterday, he joined me at a local Winn-Dixie Supermarket to collect donations and sell Empty Bowls made by local students.  These beautiful handmade bowls are each a precious work of art and represent the 700,000 bowls that go empty each day within our community. Each one is so unique.  It was fun to see people struggling over which bowl to select.  There are many uses for these bowls: decoration, jewelry holder, salt and pepper containers, soap dish, and ASHTRAYS.  Wouldn’t those children just love to know that they poured their hearts into making ashtrays!?!  The dentist in my family will get this fabulous bowl in her Christmas bag this year…

Who can resist a monster bowl with teeth like that???

Who can resist a monster bowl with teeth like that???

My son got an introduction to the public this weekend.  He was surprised by the Jenerosity displayed by so many people who had so little.  These sweet bowls made by sweet children made people smile.  Just one day after the horrific shooting at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, we found ourselves remembering the innocence of those schoolchildren.  So many people wanted a little token of love from a child to take home with them - a symbol of purity, Jenerosity and good nature.  We long for a life filled with more monster bowls and fewer senseless tragedies…where children can realize their dreams by working hard and improving the world around them…where they can plan what they want to be when they grow up and attend the college of their choice, even if their endeavors are reptilian in nature!

It is never too early to start logging your community service hours and if you are 10 years old with a goal of getting i...

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Kindness Day 2012

Time…Talent…Treasure.  These are the three ways we can all GIVE to make the world a better place.  Circumstances often shape which method is more challenging at any given time.  For example, a single mom who is working night shifts at the hospital may find Time and Treasure the most challenging, but she coordinates having four surgeons attend Career Day at her children’s school.  It is likely that we can all give in at least one of the the three ways if we put the excuses aside.

Now that we have the Jenerosity smackdown out of the way, I want to share my experience on Friday. I was humbled to see the Jenerosity of so many people who showed up at Tampa’s WFLA News Channel 8′s Kindness Day event.  Thousands of people came out to donate food, teddy bears, toys and blood for those in need.  One man was carrying toys and food as he navigated through the parking lot on crutches.  Another woman came out to donate blood for the first time since she has the rarest blood type, which is always in high demand.  Everyone had a story centered around either Time, Talent or Treasure.

These two girls delivered three large boxes of food to Feeding America Tampa Bay during WFLA’s Kindness Day in Tampa. Those boxes were HEAVY!

Sacrifice is a key component of generosity.  It is one thing for Donald Trump to offer to stroke a $5 million check to President Obama’s favorite charity, but it is something different when somebody driving a vehicle being partially held together by tape donates a trunkload of canned goods.

“Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.”           —  Kahlil Gibran

The Donald should have also offered to shave his mane since he can’t part with that odd, yet signature tress.  Now that would have been a real sacrifice which may have yielded a different result!  But leaving his eyebrows “au-naturale”  against a bald head would be way too Groucho Marx for me!  Let’s just stick to the $5 million, even though it is only a drop in the bucket for Mr. Trump.

Time...Talent...Treasure.  These are the three ways we can all GIVE to make the world a better place.  Circumstances oft...

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