This Christmas season, why not think about how you can give to others in need? You don’t have to make a lot of money or even have a lot of time to give a little something extra to someone struggling in your community or one on the other side of the world. As we celebrate the birth of our Christ, let’s remember how richly blessed we are, how He has given to us, and share those blessings with others. Here are a few ways you can give this season. There’s still time!
– Choose a Salvation Army angel. Visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or your local mall to see if angels still need to be adopted. You can pick up a few gifts from their wish lists to help children or seniors in financial need. You can also drop some change in their red kettles or volunteer to ring the bell for an afternoon.
– Adopt a Prison Fellowship angel. Donate to helpangeltree.org or check with your local church to help children whose parents are in prison receive Christmas gifts and connect with their parents.
– Find a local family in your community. Talk to someone at a local hospital, home health care agency, cancer treatment center, school, church, etc. about reaching out to a person or a family in your community who needs help this season. Gather some friends or family members and go shopping for the adopted family for new clothes, toys, Christmas dinner, etc. Offer to meet up for coffee and gift-opening.
– Volunteer to serve dinner at a local homeless shelter or soup kitchen this Christmas. Remember to check back throughout the year too, when most people forget about helping.
– Invite an international student from your campus or someone far from home to spend the holidays with your family. You can share your family’s traditions and provide a warm home away from home for a few days.
– Send a family overseas a sewing machine, goat, or new well. You can donate to ministries like World Vision (www.worldvision.org) and Gospel for Asia (www.gfa.org) and provide gifts for families that will continue to improve their standard of living and family income. Even $5 can provide a blanket on a cold night.
Get creative this year and reach out to others. Set the bar higher for yourself and for those around you. It’s easy to focus in on giving to the ones we love, but what about those who have no one?”I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40). Merry Christmas!