Teaching the Importance of Giving Back:

I love getting to be a mentor.  I am a mentor to an 8th grade girl who is also a student at my job in the Job Foundation.  A person doesn’t have to be an employee in order to mentor, but I have decided to be a mentor these last few years while working here.  I have really enjoyed getting to know my mentee for the past two and half years as both one of my students in the Job Foundation but also as my mentee. 

Some of my favorite opportunities with my mentee have been getting to teach her some fundamental and important life skills and especially getting an opportunity to give back.  There was a day in January when we went to the University of Northern Iowa’s MLK volunteer day and we packaged sack lunches for kids all across Iowa.  Then there have been twice when we have worked on doing the operation Christmas child.  This is when we have created Christmas boxes for kids all over the world.  I have personally great memories of being able to do this with my family, so I am glad my mentee and I had a chance to do this.  

There are many verses about giving throughout the Bible.  In fact, there are about 2,000 times the Bible mentions giving.  This is included in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Jesus loves to give to those who are in need, and he would often do this through his ministry on earth.  One of the verses in the Bible is 2 Corinthians 9:7 which says, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  The Lord loves when his people choose to give from their hearts just as He often does with his followers and those who are of the poor.  

I am very grateful my mentee has really enjoyed the opportunity to volunteer and to give charitably.  She appreciated the times we have volunteered as a group, and she loved picking out the gifts for those who are even less fortunate.  She was even helping me put my shoebox together.  There were a lot of gifts to fit in a smaller space, and she was good about getting it all organized within the box.  

Besides working with my mentor, I have also been blessed to organize events for my students to do volunteering at different nonprofits in our area.  For example, as a middle school group they have gone to Northeast Iowa Food Bank as well as the following year to the Salvation Army.  Both middle school lessons went well.  We are also going to be going back to the food bank the week after Thanksgiving for this year’s middle school lesson. There were a lot of kids who really enjoyed this lesson and appreciated getting out in the community to do something for a local nonprofit.  

The challenge for this week is to spend time thinking about how you can give back.  Is there a way you can find to give or to volunteer?  Is there a person or a group in your area who you know needs extra assistance?  Is there a nonprofit or a charity that you have been thinking about supporting recently? This is the start of the holiday season, and while it is again the most stressful for a lot of individuals, it is also a very hard time for a lot of those who are in need.  This even includes the nonprofits and the charity organizations we know in our community.  There are many who are asking for end of the year donations for this very reason.  

I think this is a reminder as we are in the season of the holidays, of Thanksgiving, of Christmas, of present shopping and with big meals, that we are finding time and some funds and love in our hearts to give to those who are less fortunate or who are in more need for certain foods. This also includes teaching our young people about the importance of charitable giving, and of volunteering and being out in the community.  I hope you have a blessed holiday season, and I hope you can be a blessing to many more in your community.