With the holiday season upon us, it\u2019s an opportune time to give thanks for our good fortune, and to look for opportunities to help others. This week, we\u2019re sharing with you what our Springwater colleague Frank Remund and his family do each year.<\/p>\n
Our church has a Food and Toy drive, for which every family selects a local area family from a \u201cgift tree\u201d, and then ask the family what their children wish for. We then go gift shopping with our own kids, and ask them to help decide which toy or Lego set would be the best gift. Although our kids are young, it doesn\u2019t take long for them to be fully engaged. <\/p>\n
Then, on a Saturday morning in December, we gather to pack food parcels. After more than 800 boxes are packed, we deliver the food and toys to each family\u2019s home. These deliveries help our children understand how fortunate they are. It may be the most impactful experience they have all year.<\/p>\n
Our family also sponsors a child through the non-profit organization Compassion International. Recently, the child we sponsor moved out of the area that the charity covers, and so as a family we sponsored a new child. There are obviously so many children in need around the world, but when our children learned that a Bangladeshi child had not been supported for over a year, the decision was easier. Seeing how moved our kids were by the process, and how happy they were to give some of their own money for a Christmas present, made us very happy as parents. We hope that long after the other Christmas gifts have worn out or been outgrown, what our children learned this holiday season will last a lifetime.<\/p>\n