Welp folks, with the countdown to Christmas coming to a near end masses and masses of people have found themselves frantically fighting their way through mall parking lots and department store turnstiles in attempts to check the names of loved ones off their Christmas list one by one. With the recession nearing it's end, this Holiday season has provided a major economic boost, people are more hopeful, and Santa has found himself to be VERY exhausted.
Sure, presents are nice, but let's take a moment to remember what this Holiday season is really about. On Monday 12/20 we took the time to volunteer at 1736 FAMILY CRISIS CENTER, an organization dedicated to helping women who have been victims of domestic violence, runaway and homeless youth, unemployed adults with families to provide for, and other low income members of the greater Los Angeles community.
The Crisis Center set up a "Christmas Store," which was intended to simulate the shopping experience (that so many of us routinely dread and ultimately take for granted) for mothers to pick out gifts for their children and children to do the same for their mothers. The store was filled to the brim with brand new donated games, dolls, clothing, and more! It was truly an overwhelmingly amazing experience for all parties involved. One mother in particular was brought to tears with such appreciation and such joy just knowing that she would be able to provide her children with the same wonderful Christmas memories that so many of us do not realize that we are blessed to have.
This Holiday season we just hope that each of you takes a moment to really be thankful for what it is you have. Yes, we understand that for many of us our situations could be a whole lot better, but you must count your blessings and always realize that things could be a whole lot worse.
XOXO,
Mai & ChaCha
You ladies were so gracious and incredibly generous!! Not only donating your time but bringing others with you to tell them what we're doing here at 1736!! People always think it's about the "stuff" and even though donations are a huge part of how we're able to provide supportive services, so many have no idea how much just a minute of their time can help! Thank you sooooo much for making a difference in the lives of our clients:)
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