The importance of giving back-now, then and always.

BY CINDY YOUNGCOURT

I find myself again at this time of the year engulfed in the all of the common “to-dos” related to the holidays—buying presents, sending Christmas cards, creating photo calendars of my children for their grandparents. I also try to spend extra time with my kids to share fun holiday experiences, such as light displays, Secret Santa gift exchanges, and choosing a tree to cut down.

Before I had children, I spent my holiday time in a much different way. Back then, it was just me and Jazz, my golden retriever. The two of us would spend some of the holiday visiting local nursing homes through Faithful Friends Animal Society, a non-profit animal welfare organization located in Wilmington. On my own, I would gather canned goods and buy a turkey to deliver to a shelter for those less fortunate than me.

After I had children, I didn't seem to have as much time around the holidays to do everything I wanted to do. But this year, I remembered how important it is to make time to serve others, and how valuable it would be to my children to involve them in serving those in greater need than themselves.

So I signed up for Faithful Friends again this season, this time with my husband, my eight-year-old daughter and Oliver, our shih-tzu. On our nursing home visit, my daughter was so excited to share our soft "puppy" with the residents. Mind you, Oliver is 13 years old. 

I also spent the past month gathering new toys, toiletries and other necessities for a local women’s and children's shelter, enlisting my two children to shop for both sweet and healthy treats for the residents there. My children carried everything through the front door, delivering the goodies for the eight women and 19 children, ranging in age from 6 months to 15 years old, currently living there.

Even our earnest efforts didn’t seem enough. I asked the shelter director what more we could do, and they presented us with a wish list for the shelter residents. I then asked my company, Affinity Wealth Management, to sponsor the wish list so each woman and child living at the shelter would have a gift to open on Christmas. We also included other important items that the shelter needed to continue serving the community into the next year.

The firm principals happily agreed, sponsoring the wish list and donating funds for the gifts. These women and children were practically strangers to us, but my children and I loved shopping for them, wrapping their presents and delivering all of the packages to the shelter in plenty of time for Christmas.

During this holiday season, I learned that I work for a company and for people who are generous and caring about everything they do, from helping clients to serving the greater community. Plus, my children learned valuable lessons about giving back to those in need for all the blessings they receive themselves. Helping others is important to me.  I plan to continue this spirit of giving and service, not just around the holidays but throughout the rest of the year.