We recently met a most remarkable family. With the help of their parents, Tristan 7, Landon 6 and Madison 2 organized and implemented a toy, clothing and book drive with their family, friends and neighbors. Their basic idea was to celebrate their birthdays by helping other children who might not receive a birthday present. With over 80,000 local children living in poverty and with one in ten of these children homeless, the need is overwhelming.
We received these emails from Mom Melissa:
“My kids would like to donate their birthdays this year to a good cause, and we came across your organization. Our family has been very blessed so far in our lives and we could not see having three birthdays with gifts the children really do not need, especially in these hard times. We would much rather put that energy into helping kids who need it. My kids are totally on board with this! We are having a toy drive on May 14 to collect goods. My kids would like to personally drop off the items and tour your facility and learn how they are helping their community. Let me know if I can schedule a time with you. We are looking forward to it and honored to be helping.
We had a successful birthday charity event last Saturday. The kids had a blast collecting the items from their friends and family. We were able to collect clothes, toys, puzzles, over 100 books and more. We are planning on dropping off the items tomorrow afternoon.”
In this crazy mixed-up world, we live in, to see a mother and father sharing their values with their children and then leading by example by doing the work to give their children an enduring understanding of love and philanthropy, is quite possibly one of our great hopes! The Medeiros family truly reflects a most perfect example of what is best about us as people.
