Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey day is here...certainly my favorite meal of the year.  Thank goodness most of my family likes the dark meat, I prefer the white.  Today is a day to give thanks and count our blessings.  As I said in my blog yesterday, Thanksgiving should become a habit and not something we celebrate only one day a year.

Tomorrow is "Black Friday," a crazy shopping day and the official start of  the holiday shopping season. I personally stay home on the day after Thanksgiving, too many people and too much traffic for me.  (And I am an extrovert!)  The next 30 days is the ultimate push for materialism.  Wouldn't it be nice if instead of giving more stuff to people who already have too much stuff that we gave to those in need.  Here are some ideas of things you can do to give back this holiday season:

• Give money to the Salvation Army to feed the homeless during the holidays
• Make a donation to your favorite charity in the name of a friend or loved one
• Volunteer at a local soup kitchen
• Actually give to the "bell ringers" outside of WalMart and other stores (isn't that Salvation Army?)
• Buy a cow, goat, chickens, trees, seeds, or other items through the Heifer project/Heifer International at http://www.heifer.com/
• Buy a bag of groceries and take to a family in need or give to your church to donate
• Send a care package to the troops overseas
• Donate coats, hats, gloves, and/or scarves to a local homeless shelter
• Invite a family over for the holidays who may not be able to afford to cook the turkey, ham, and all the trimmings
• Buy a turkey or ham and donate it to an organization that distributes food to families in need
• Purchase and deliver a Christmas tree to a family who cannot afford the cost of a tree
• Contact your church (or a local church if you do not attend one) and see if they can give you the name of a family to adopt for the holidays
• Volunteer to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity
• If you knit or crochet, make gloves for our soldiers (my aunt did that last year)
• If you are a handyman, help a single mother or an elderly person do house repairs or basic maintenance
• Help a single mother or the elderly decorate their house for the holiday; put up the tree, hang the outside lights, etc.

I am sure if I keep thinking I could come up with many other suggestions and I am sure you have plenty of ideas of your own.  There are so many wonderful charities out there who could use not only your money to help those in need but your time as well.  Here are some of my favorite charites (in no particular order):

• Make a Wish Foundation
• Special Olympics
• St. Jude's Childrens Hospital
• Heifer Project
• Canine Companions
• Local Animal Shelters (Don't forget the animals...a great place to adopt a cat or dog for your children)
• Neuse River Golden Retriever Rescue (serving Eastern North Carolina...many rescue groups nationwide serving your local area)
• Salvation Army
• American Red Cross
• Women's Shelter of Wake County (check your local listings for a shelter in your area)
• Habitat for Humanity
• Any organization serving the military service men and women and their families

Your generous donation of time and/or money will be a blessing to you and to others.  Celebrate the season as it should be, by giving back to those in need...spend wisely!  Happy Holidays

(In my next blog I will get back to the topic of creating a "shared vision")