Posts tagged Gives
Day 354: Family Give Day: The Sister Give
Oct 2nd
I think we have all heard the saying ‘Charity begins at home‘ and this week this could not be more true! My sister has started this movement, 365give.ca where she writes everyday, gives everyday to people she knows, people she does not know, the planet, international organizations and tons of other causes and projects. She has been giving for more years than anyone would know and I am thrilled that she has formalized her passion and energy into a public educational program.
But sometimes the giver needs a give. And sometimes your sister needs a give to get her over a large hurdle.
So the give today is to my sister, Jacqueline Way, and this give will continue for the ext few days as she gets settled into Mommyhood once again. See Day 353 on her newest family member and miracle.
Day 354: Give 354: The Giver gets a Give: guest post by Nicola Inwood
If you have not heard, my sister Jacqueline will be adopted a new baby this week. This has been a long process of waiting, some disappointments as there were some adoptions that did not go through, some heart wrenching moments and some great patience on her part. The day has come when she gets her greatest give, a new baby, and as her sister, I get to give her the greatest give, making sure that she has support for another passion, 365give.
We live in different countries, and at this point will not overload her house with yet another person to get in the way, I will from afar give my time and dedication to her 365give.ca site as she settles into motherhood2 (squared). The duty of 365give.ca will be taken off if need be and I will submit the posts, or tweet or post on facebook while she settles.
This is my give to my sister for as long as she needs.
The Giver is not the best Receiver
In case you are not aware, Givers are not the best receivers. There are many givers out there, many of you who read this blog are great givers and one of the downfalls of a Giver is that they do not receive very well. It is my hope that Jacqueline will become as good of a Receiver as she is a Giver in this circumstance. Having a new baby pop into your life without the 9 months of preparation is a big change, and I only want the best for her, her first born Nicolas and husband David in this case. So work with me people and lets give Jacqueline full support as she flips into this new family mode.
Remember your family when thinking about your give of the day
It is easy to forget about our own family when we are thinking about the give of the day. But charity does start at home and I am happy that on 365give.ca we can ironically come full circle. So I am dedicating this day today, as a Family Give Day, where each of us looks to our immediate family, husband, sister, brother, child or roommate and give to them today.
We have Fathers Day, we have Mothers Day, we have Secretary’s Day and Bosses Day, but for some reason we don’t have a Sisters Day or Brothers Day. Mexico celebrates Kids Day, El dia de los Ninos, but sisters and brothers seem to be forgotten in these celebrations. So in your give today, phone your sister, help them with a chore, take their kids, or tell them that you appreciate them. Write them a note like Jacqueline did on Father’s Day.
Sisters Day Today
So if the 365give voice seems a bit different, know that it is Jacqueline’s sister providing a give of the day to help her settle in. It may be one give it may be a series of gives, but the Giver is getting a give for as long as she needs it….
Time commitment – Does not matter
Price – Priceless, the opportunity to give to your sister is really priceless
Related Gives
My other sister gives to 365give on Jacqueline’s birthday
Day 290: The Circle of Giving is the Circle of Life
Jul 17th
It is true. When you give to another, that act of giving is passed forward. It is almost a guarantee. Seldom do you get to witness the act of passing it forward, but I have proof in a great giving story.
Day 290: Give 290 Guest Post by Nicola Inwood
Give to another and they will give it forward
Two years ago an employee of mine came into work with a case of Bells Palsy, paralysis to one side of the face that is generally caused by stress. My employee was horrified, did not know what it was and assumed he had a stroke. He immediately went to the federally supported hospital and after hours of waiting in line, received some medication and a diagnosis, Bells Palsy. The doctor requested that he come back in 10 days and that was it. No facial excercises, no investigation into why this happened. Just medicate and come back. This story happened in Mexico. My employee was scared.
After 5 days of no improvement and no family to support him through this, I called a Mexican community clinic to see if they could offer some support other than medication. Oddly enough, Bells Palsy is common in Mexico and the community clinic was happy to review his case, at a cost of 3 usd to see the doctor and 9 usd to see the specialist. As his employer, I took him by the hand, and went to the clinic with him to support the process. In 10 minutes he had seen the specialist, was scheduled to see the psychiatrist and appoints were made for the next few weeks. After 3 weeks the Bells palsy was healed, the paralysis gone and I had an employee who was the happiest man alive. A miracle had happened and someone took the time to care for his health, for him and his fears of looking like this for the rest of his life.
Fast forward to 2011
One evening a friend of mine was out for dinner and noticed that a mariachi guitarist was not smiling. She looked at him and motioned for him to smile. He turned away. After the music was done, the mariachi band player came to my girlfriends table and apologized for not smiling but explained he could not smile, he has this weird paralysis in his face and could not smile. Sherry remembered the story of my staff member, called him directly and hooked up the mariachi band player with Ubaldo. At 7 am the next morning, Ubaldo took the mariachi band player to the local community clinic personally, got him the three initial appointments, paid for them and waited until the appointments were done to review what the schedule of treatments would be. Ubaldo remained in contact with the mariachi band player until he too did not have the paralysis anymore.
Giving just keeps on Giving
I heard about this giving episode by chance. It was not told to me by my employee or the mariachi band player. My girlfriend mentioned it in passing. I talked to my employee about it, he confirmed the tale, and I just hugged him. I did not need to say anything, I just hugged him. He did the right thing and his action was quick and from the heart. We both knew how it all happened. The mariachi band player is a friend of his for life and will pay it forward to another in another way.
It is stories like this that make me smile. It is acts of giving like this that make my life all worthwhile. I would never have heard about this from him, it was a chance meeting with my girlfriend that got the story to me. I wonder each day who else is giving it forward and hope that more people do give it forward than we think. I never gave thinking that it would be passed forward, nor did Ubaldo give in hopes it would be passed forward. It just happens. The more we give, the more it gets passed forward, the more it gets passed forward, the more we change the world one day at a time.
Have you passed a giving action forward lately. Do you have a story about a giving action being passed forward that made your day? Let 365give know about your Give It forward story today and sent it to changetheworld@365give.ca
Day 287: Everyone Needs a Give
Jul 14th
People who you can give to are not necessarily obvious to you. It is easy to identify a homeless person on the street and know they are in need. A child crying from hunger is a no brainer. But some people who could benefit from your give of the day are not that easy to spot sometimes and we have to let the world take care of these serendipitous moments where the universe presents a giving moment and we give when the opportunity arises, not when we are looking for it.
Day 287: Give 287
Well dressed is not a sign that giving is not needed
Recently a woman I know, a well dressed, manicured, successful business woman cried to me on the phone. She finally had arrived at the realization that she had to leave her bad marriage with a psychologically and verbally abusive husband. Despite her day to day appearance, she was stuck and needed a place to stay, a friend to support this terrifying move and felt that she had come to the end of her rope. Despite her appearance and full time work she had nowhere to turn, no money for a place to stay and no other option but to leave their house to get out of this situation. I was surprised. There was no previous discussions about this situation nor did I have any idea that this was happening. Without hesitation, I opened my house to her.
Giving knows no bounds
My give was a safe quiet place, a bed, pillows, closet space, and a place to rest her head for a while. I willing will share and welcome her into my home. No rent, no hassles. This home will be full of compassion and the opportunity for her to take the steps needed to move forward in her life. There were no questions, mi casa es tu casa.
A Give is needed by everyone at some point in their life
I encourage everyone to be open to these spontaneous moments. You don’t have to open up your home but you can be open to others when they may need a hand no matter who they are or what they do. We are wired to give to those who financially or geographically don’t have what we have, but a give can help a well respected friend or colleague who at the moment is not able to handle their emotional situation. Be open to a plea for help from your neighbor, a co-worker or someone you may even admire. You may see a person in need of a give and not be open to providing a give of the day as they have financial resources. Emotional bankruptcy can be more difficult than financial bankruptcy and harder sometimes to recover from. It may not be the need for a place to sleep but it could be as simple as a smile, a caring pat on the back or a should to lean on if only for a minute. It is those we think are least likely to need our spontaneous random act of kindness that could really use one. Don’t let looks deceive you, everyone one needs a hand up at some point.
Guest Post by: 
Kay Walten is a social media consultant that lives in Mexico and the USA. She is involved in many community projects around the world with a passion for woman focused projects in Tanzania. Kay has been raising money for communities for decades and continues to follow her passion to give her expertise as a social media specialist and speaker in Destination Marketing and Tourism Social Media Strategies to events and charities. Follow Kay on twitter @kaywaltengroup to see what community project she is heading up next or what community will benefit from her crowd sourcing expertise!
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