Giving Back: Favourite Holiday Charities

Remember when you read the Berenstain Bears books when you were young?

There was the one book (The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving
) about Mama Bear decluttering their house of all the children’s gently-used-but-no-longer-played-with toys and games, Papa’s unused collection of fishing poles and fishing magazines, and Mama’s piles of never been looked at cookbooks and the stacks of fabric she would one day potentially use – and then they donated all their stuff to the old folks home, children’s hospital, and salvation army. Donating during the holidays is a wonderful way to give back to your community!

This year I decided to participate in one of the many charity drives my church does, creating a basket of household items for teen moms and teen parents at the Terra Centre.

As a young woman who became pregnant at 18 year old, I know the struggles financially and emotionally that come with having a baby so young and felt compelled to spread the blessing of my family to another young family.

The items one the list ranged from deodorant to dish towels to mittens for little ones. Instead of buying a couple of dresses or a new purse buying this Black Friday I invested into a family, and it felt even better than any shopping high I have ever had.