Late post: Basket Brigade

Basket Brigade: volunteers donate gift baskets of food for a thanksgiving feast to needy families around the world. à a small act of kindness

The SECRET To LIFE Is GIVING 

My family and I have been doing basket brigade over the years in both, England and The United States. It all started with us attending an Anthony Robbins’ seminar, Unleash the Power Within in the 90’s. Anthony Robbins’ communicated an anecdote to the audience about his very first time he was introduced to basket brigade. He shared the amount of pleasure he got from this experience, and decided to make it an annual tradition. From this story, my family and I decided to incorporate this practice in our lives. My parents thought it would be wise to start my brother and I off early giving back to the community (I was 8 and my brother was 10). They were right, ever since then, we have been actively participating in basket brigades.

A few days before thanksgiving

This year for thanksgiving, my family and I attended a basket brigade that was hosted by La Rosa Realty. Families within the business, community, and city came out and helped deliver baskets. There were over 320 baskets that were made by the various families that included a food for a thanksgiving dinner, a gift-card to the grocery store for a turkey, and a kind note. My brother, mum and I were in charge of delivering 10 baskets to homes in the Central Florida area.

Out of the 10 houses that we delivered to, 3 of the families weren’t there so we either gave the baskets to their neighbors to give to them or gave it to a different family in the same neighborhood. Most of the families that did answer the door were so shocked and confused as to what was happening. We wished them a Happy Thanksgiving, and told them that this basket was a gift from a friend, and hope that one day they will be able to pay it forward.

I distinctly remember one family that we gave the basket to; the whole family came to the door (4 kids and a mother). The kids had a huge smile on their face when they saw the food, and there were tears in the mother’s eye knowing that she would be able to provide her family a thanksgiving meal. She couldn’t stop thanking us and kept saying, “bless you”. This house alone was enough to remind me the importance of giving back.
I am so happy that every year, I am blessed to volunteer, and give back to the community. It’s the same things in life that make the biggest difference.

London Bag Drop

What's a better way to spend your Near Year's day than to volunteer and deliver bags to the homeless? Making a difference early on is the best way to start the new year.
This year it was my cousins turn to host the event, so she gathered the essentials and spread the word to her friends and family. About 38 bags were made and delivered to the homeless men and woman around London. The bags consisted of gloves, underwear, toothbrush, toothpaste, hats, water and other essentials, as well as lunch and coffee.
It was honestly such a humbling experience. As we gave people the bags and food, alot of them were so thankful and some even shared some of their stories with us. Some of the people returned some of the essentials back to us and said they didn't need it. For me, this was absolutely shocking to see. I would have thought they would be greedy, and take everything, but they simply said "i won't be needing or using this, so you can give it to someone who might like it."

I feel as though homeless people have such a bad reputation. Don't get me wrong, i'm sure there are people who aren't nice, and are greedy, but the ones we encountered were just so grateful that we were doing this, especially when it was about 30 degrees outside. I know if I was in their position, I would want everything and would be completely cranky.

About an hour into the bag drop, it started raining... not drizzling, but down pouring. I was miserable. I was honestly only thinking about how I was going to be home in a few hours and get to change into my pajamas. It crossed my mind, that these people on the streets couldn't do anything, but cope with what they had in the rain and cold weather. I got quite emotional thinking about it because they really have no choice, but to make the best of what they had, which wasn't much. I'm glad that my family and I were able to help them, not necessarily give them money, but provide them with the basics necessities.