The Power of Giving During the Christmas Season!

“Cultivate Your Garden! Your unique corner of the World. Make it a beautiful reflection of Your Inner Self!

- Ruth Moody on CBC’s Q with Jion Gomeshi

I just got back from an amazing evening helping serve a Christmas dinner for the homeless in the Greater Vancouver Area! It was truly a magical night, and I could not believe how beautiful and genuine the people who came to take part in the meal were.They were warm, kind, and so thankful to get a good meal… It made me realize how much we truly have to give.

This blog is all about building a positive community of learning and growth… And there is no better time to do this than Christmas…

So!

What are you doing to contribute to your community, and especially those who are less fortunate at this time of year. We have so much, just to give you an idea, here is a great passage to help keep our lives in perspective!

There are countless different ways you can create a positive impact in your community this season… From helping out at a food kitchen, donating to a charity, or participating in a food drive – these are all ways that a small contribution of your time and effort will have a huge impact in the life of someone less fortunate!

But if you are in the spirit, don’t stop there! Get creative! Although the motive should not be seflish, there is plenty of opportunity to build your community, and improve your personal brand image and awareness! Here are four recent examples that I have seen in my life!

1) Help-Portrait East Vancouver

A few of Vancouver’s top photographers along with a hard working crew teamed up and spent a whole day with the homeless community in Vancouver’s Downtown East side… They were down there to take free portrait photos of anyone on the street that was interested.

As you will see from the incredibly touching video, these were not just point and shoot portraits. Every person who’s portrait was taken got their hair and makeup done, and then received several high quality copies to give to anyone they would like…

What a powerful and creative intiative this group took, it is exciting and inspiring to hear of community building like this!

2) We are the Change!

My second example which is equally inspiring actually comes from my own cousin, Olivia… She recently celebrated her 15th birthday, and that is where this story becomes special…

Instead of having a normal 15 year old birthday party with a big celebration, presents and cards, Olivia decided to turn this into an opportunity to help those in need and build her own community.

For her party, she invited 100 friends to a local pool – and instead of asking for her friends to bring presents, Olivia said that each friend had to bring $7… Here you may be thinking that this is an entrepreneur in the making and she has made a nice profit – but since this is a story about giving, something else took place – My cousin’s goal was to raise money for World Vision, the party was a success and she raised well over $1,000. She is now using facebook to spread her cause and the donations are still flowing in!

Her mantra for all of the other 15 year olds that attended and the many that are following her mini-campaign on facebook is… We are the Change!

This is pretty powerful stuff! And if Olivia, a newly 15 year old, can inspire her whole network to contribute to a greater cause, than we are all capable of some positive contribution!

These stories become more and more exciting with each person they influence to make an impact… What if each of us used our creativity, network, and passions to have a positive impact on the communities that we live in, and use that influence to give to the less fortunate. The domino effect becomes very real!

Let me share with you a story to illustrate this point

3) The Christmas Elves

The last story has been inspired by an amazing person, my mother, Joan Mara. In 2008 she had a vision to get involved with a local transition home and buy presents for the residents. Instead of doing it herself, she put the call to action to her community, and not before long there was a tight knit group of 20… Santa’s Christmas Elves… Since then the Elves have grown in size and scope, each Elf developing a personal relationship with their resident, which is just as meaningful as the presents…

This story doesn’t stop there however, it gets better! The residents were so moved by the Elves positive impact and kindness, that they wanted to pay it forward. They asked Joan if she could find one family in need that the whole transitional home could be a Christmas Elf too!

Incredible! And so the momentum continues! (Here is the full newspaper article on the Christmas Elves)

4) A Social Media Campaign

Finally, a very cool local initative that is taking place right now is 99.7 The River’s “Fill The Trailer” Food Drive… Dave Reynolds, a member of the radio station  has moved into a trailer and will live there until it is full of food! Although this seems like a typical community drive, The River has leveraged social media and the community is spreading!

You can hop over to Twitter and use the tag #997Fillthetrailer to watch the progress and even join the conversation in real-time (it is worth at least checking out the discussion)! Any twitter personality can participate with tweets and retweets to help raise awareness and Fill The Trailer! (You can Read more about this here!)

Don’t be afraid or nervous to try something new. The opportunities and channels are there, and the communities out there are more than ready to be a part of a positive movement.

Never underestimate the power of giving, whether you give a smile, or a million dollars, you never know how you can change someones life. I encourage and challenge all of you to think of ways both big and small to build your community, have a positive impact, and give to the less fortunate this Christmas season!

Please feel free to share the ways that you are getting involved and giving back this year. I appreciate your thoughts and comments!

Sincerely,

Tyrell Mara