Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009



I feel especially thankful this year! No, I didn't win the lottery, get a new car, a high paying job, or even my new toilet this year. But I am doing something I love - writing. And though the life is simple, it's easy to support. (So far.)

The other day I heard an astounding statistic. 1 out of every 6 families can't put food on the table - in the United States. Amazing in a country where we probably waste enough food and resources to feed half of the starving communities in the world.

This morning I saw a Thanksgiving segment on a school in Las Vegas started by a woman who grew up poor and remembered when she, as a little girl, and her mother were turned away from a food line.

This morning professional chefs converged on her school to feed hundreds of children, many of whom are homeless, living in their parents cars or on the streets. Through donations, she's set up a warehouse of food and clothing the children can use and facilities where they can bathe. She says the number has exploded recently with children of parents who've lost their jobs and their homes to foreclosure. But it's not a new phenomenon.

Certainly this woman took a bad experience and used it to inspire her to save other children from the same. What can I say I've done to make a difference for someone in need? Not enough. But hopefully her story will stir me to act the next time I get an opportunity. How about you?

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