Got gratitude?

Operation Gratitude

I learned about this from my mom, whose church regu- larly sends cards, letters, and care packages overseas to the armed forces. My mom and her fellow church ladies bake some of the best cookies in the world, so they gather up all kinds of goodies and treats and send them over- seas where the taste of down home surely brings many smiles of satisfaction. Those who are less gifted in the baking department (such as me!) can make a $15 dona- tion to Operation Gratitude, which pays for one care package for one serviceperson. Operation Gratitude (operationgratitude.com) has sent over a million of these kindness kits around the world! 

The gift of yourself

When I lived in the Lower Haight district of San Francisco, I drove for an AIDS food bank in my rusted-out little car I had brought with me all the way from West Virginia. I had arrived in the mid-eighties, which we may all remember as the height of the AIDS crisis. My best friend delivered meals to patients in their homes and I gave rides and also hauled groceries donated to the food bank by the Church Street Tunnel. One early morning, I was walking to the Market and Church Street MUNI station and there was the bank, with giant pink letters announcing itself as a place to lend a hand for the AIDS cause. I went in and within two minutes had a shift and assignments for the week. Everyone in there seemed extremely cool to me and they were not grim at all, but seemed to have a mission of importance. It seemed such a small way to help during that scary time, and I learned that regardless of what you can give, large or small, it is important to give of yourself. And it all does add up. Feeding America is the largest hunger relief organization the United States and they need you. Please visit www.feedingamerica.org to find your local food bank or hunger organization. Get involved – you’ll make a difference and you’ll make friends along the way. I sure did, and they remain my friends to this day.