“You ain’t gotta feel guilt just selfless…Give a little help to the helpless…Do they know it’s Christmastime at all?”- Do They Know It’s Christmas, BandAid

Remember that song? Wow.  That takes me back.  And, for some reason, I always thought the song was called Feed the World.  Anyways…

I heard the song a couple of weeks ago when my daughter and I had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Baltimore.  She thought it was hilarious that I was singing along.  I explained the message for a few minutes and then we were on to the next thing.  Food.  Which was actually pretty good!

Hopefully, however, the message stuck with her. It is important to me (and our family) that she understands the importance of giving back to those who are less fortunate than she is.  Growing up, my parents made sure that Chris (that’s my brother) and I had many opportunities to be charitable.  With that they also taught us to be respectful of all people (well, most people…you know whatimean) regardless of what they look like or how much money they have.

So every year, we adopted a family or donated to our favorite charity (my dad always chose a police or military charity) or bought presents for kids through our church or one of the many organizations to which we belong.

I’ve tried to keep that tradition going but this year (even with all of the end of the year challenges), I wanted to do something a little different.  Something more…as we’ve already donated a toy and money to foster children in Howard County.  (Sidebar- Thank you to the African American Community Roundtable members for coordinating the adoption of foster children through our Department of Social Services!  More about the AACR in another blog post.)

So tomorrow, my daughter and I are going to pay off someone’s layaway bill!  We are going to pick a store, go in, and pay the bill off.  I am super excited!

And I hope my daughter gets the message.  Because this type of hands on experience is better than me trying to explain what the lyrics of Feed the World….I mean…Do They Know It’s Christmas…mean, while waiting for burgers at Hard Rock Cafe.

And so I challenge you all to do something for the less fortunate this holiday season!  Donate your time or money or talent to help someone.  Stock some shelves at the Food Bank.  Pick up a few extra Christmas gifts for some kids.  Sign up to volunteer at a school.  Join a nonprofit board. Do something.

“Spare a thought this yuletide for the deprived…If the table was turned would you survive…”

Oh..and…I haven’t blogged in a couple of weeks because I had midterms..well, my daughter had midterms.  I had the anxiety and nervousness. For.no.reason.  But hey, that’s parenting.  And, in addition to all of the fabulous holidays (Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year!!), our family also has three birthdays in December and January.  Whew.

I’ll be back in 2015 for sure.  And I’m thinking my blog post might be somewhat related to this post as I digest what I think one of the biggest problems facing Howard County (and perhaps our state..even country) is—the widening gap between the haves and the have nots.

Be safe this holiday season everyone!