Christmas with Dignity
September 15, 2024
I love how generous people in Merced are during the holiday season. Your kindness is helping people have a little bit of hope. But I also want us to think through what we do for people. These are difficult times for everyone, so let's make sure our dollars stretch as far as they can.
I remember years ago when I first started LifeLine we partnered with an organization who was going to provide Christmas presents for our youth. A wonderful idea and such generous people, until I saw what happened. Each child received a big black garbage bag full of gifts. Most of them came from the bargain stores many were not geared directly towards that child but was just generically thrown together.
Good intentions, unintended consequences. Giving during the Holiday season is such an opportunity to partner with a family who is struggling and I am curious if we could rethink we way we help people.
What if we would focus on one meaningful gift instead of a bag of cheap stuff? What if we would connect with the parents and ask them what they think would be best for their child? What if we partnered with a non-profit who knows the community members and give them the money to use as they see fit for the families? What if rather than handing out turkeys we would invite a family over for a meal? If you are a larger organization, why not consider giving a monetary gift towards a specific need (maybe the family is behind on PGE or has other expenses that would be more meaningful to them).
I know, not easy switches to make, but we want all of our dollars to stretch as far as they can go.
At LifeLine we changed our process of gift giving early on. We call it "Christmas with Dignity", we get good gifts donated and create a storefront in our community centers where parents can buy a gift for 20% of the value (so a $20 gift would cost them $4), let them wrap the gift, and let the parents give the gift to their child. It gives dignity to the parent, by giving them an opportunity to provide for their child, it gives children a better understanding of what Christmas is about, and how their parents care for them. It breaks the cycle of people expecting free stuff. The raised money from these sales go back into our work with young people. Win-Win!
The smiles on the faces of parents when they can provide for their children is priceless, the joy of the children when they find out they got a gift is beautiful. What a great reminder what Christmas is all about, the greatest gift of all.