The Castroville Community Thanksgiving Dinner was put together by 296 volunteers. It was quite inspirational watching the day unfold. In addition to the huge sit down dinner at the Castroville City Recreation Center, the organizers also brought food to two women’s shelters, the Victory Mission, AMR (the local ambulance company whose team members had to work throughout the county on the holiday) and Dorothy’s Kitchen (a team that feeds the homeless daily throughout the year).
The size of the effort was mind boggling: 70 turkeys, 28 hams, 100 cases of vegetables/salad and 5 gallons of dressing, 10 paint cans of potatoes, 400 pounds of dressing, 1500 rolls and to top it off, 187 pies. In addition to 1300 people enjoying dinner, the team also provided 768 bags of groceries for the families to take home.
All of this was made possible by contributions… of food, time and money, from individuals and organizations. There were also hundreds and hundreds of placemats created by local school children. Watching the smiles on the faces of the volunteers and hearing them already planning to be back next year was priceless. People really enjoy helping others.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
A NEW THANKSGIVING TRADITION
At thanksgiving we traditionally give thanks for our blessings, the good things that have happened to us during the year. These blessings might traditionally include things like being happy and healthy, safe and secure, prosperous and loving.
At breakfast yesterday it occurred to me that it would increase our happiness if we could find blessings in more places, even in places that other people consider bad.
For example, many people think of this “down” economy as a bad thing and this leads to lots of unhappiness. I asked myself, "Are there blessings in experiencing this “down” economy?" After a bit of thought I realized that this current economic situation might be one of our biggest blessings.
At first glance, situations like the rampant unemployment, the real estate devaluation and tight money appear to be anything but a blessing. However, these situations are stopping us from practices which we grew to accept as normal, which in fact were quite self-destructive.
Dr Thomas Stanley, in his enlightening book The Millionaire Next door, suggests that the true measure of wealth is not how many expensive toys you own or even how high your income, but how long you can live without the need to go to work to earn an income.
When I read that statement I remembered a drive I took many years ago through Hillsborough, California. Hillsborough is one of the wealthiest communities in America and has the highest income of places in the United States with populations of at least 10,000 (Wikipedia). I was struck by the fact that as I passed hundreds of homes I did not see one brand new car. Most of the automobiles were at least two or three years old.
However, even in our little town of Salinas, California prior to our economic slide I saw big new Mercedes sedans and BMW’s everywhere. A couple of years into our “down” economy that situation has changed dramatically. My wife and I personally know many folks who no longer sport their big expensive luxury car. Is that a bad situation? Or is it in reality a blessing?
As a child one of my favorite relatives was Uncle Bud. Uncle Bud used to say again and again “Our disappointments are our blessings in disguise, because they teach us things we would not have learned otherwise.”
Perhaps the “down” economy has helped many folks learn what the residents of Hillsboro and the millionaire next door already knew. Ignoring for a moment the temporary pain they must experience, losing their excessively expensive luxury cars may have been one of the best things that ever happened to them.
For years I have watched Realtors work with clients to see "how much" house they could qualify for and usually the clients were guided to purchase the biggest house possible. This consideration always seemed to be much more important than the client’s needs. The game seemed to be to move into bigger and bigger houses... with bigger and bigger mortgages. This process frequently necessitated both husband and wife working just to survive. If anything goes wrong, like losing a job or medical problems, they are in over their heads.
This “down” economy has highlighted the fact that many of us live too close to the edge. We are in some ways like children who want more and more candy until it makes them sick. Financial stress plays a significant role in most divorces and exacerbates many health challenges and yet we continue to stretch ourselves to the limit.
Perhaps the blessing of our “down” economy will motivate us to focus more on saving and tithing. Think for a moment what a blessing it would be to have less financial stress in our lives. That would really be something to give thanks for and not just on the fourth Thursday in November!
At breakfast yesterday it occurred to me that it would increase our happiness if we could find blessings in more places, even in places that other people consider bad.
For example, many people think of this “down” economy as a bad thing and this leads to lots of unhappiness. I asked myself, "Are there blessings in experiencing this “down” economy?" After a bit of thought I realized that this current economic situation might be one of our biggest blessings.
At first glance, situations like the rampant unemployment, the real estate devaluation and tight money appear to be anything but a blessing. However, these situations are stopping us from practices which we grew to accept as normal, which in fact were quite self-destructive.
Dr Thomas Stanley, in his enlightening book The Millionaire Next door, suggests that the true measure of wealth is not how many expensive toys you own or even how high your income, but how long you can live without the need to go to work to earn an income.
When I read that statement I remembered a drive I took many years ago through Hillsborough, California. Hillsborough is one of the wealthiest communities in America and has the highest income of places in the United States with populations of at least 10,000 (Wikipedia). I was struck by the fact that as I passed hundreds of homes I did not see one brand new car. Most of the automobiles were at least two or three years old.
However, even in our little town of Salinas, California prior to our economic slide I saw big new Mercedes sedans and BMW’s everywhere. A couple of years into our “down” economy that situation has changed dramatically. My wife and I personally know many folks who no longer sport their big expensive luxury car. Is that a bad situation? Or is it in reality a blessing?
As a child one of my favorite relatives was Uncle Bud. Uncle Bud used to say again and again “Our disappointments are our blessings in disguise, because they teach us things we would not have learned otherwise.”
Perhaps the “down” economy has helped many folks learn what the residents of Hillsboro and the millionaire next door already knew. Ignoring for a moment the temporary pain they must experience, losing their excessively expensive luxury cars may have been one of the best things that ever happened to them.
For years I have watched Realtors work with clients to see "how much" house they could qualify for and usually the clients were guided to purchase the biggest house possible. This consideration always seemed to be much more important than the client’s needs. The game seemed to be to move into bigger and bigger houses... with bigger and bigger mortgages. This process frequently necessitated both husband and wife working just to survive. If anything goes wrong, like losing a job or medical problems, they are in over their heads.
This “down” economy has highlighted the fact that many of us live too close to the edge. We are in some ways like children who want more and more candy until it makes them sick. Financial stress plays a significant role in most divorces and exacerbates many health challenges and yet we continue to stretch ourselves to the limit.
Perhaps the blessing of our “down” economy will motivate us to focus more on saving and tithing. Think for a moment what a blessing it would be to have less financial stress in our lives. That would really be something to give thanks for and not just on the fourth Thursday in November!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Continuing a Thanksgiving Tradition
Nineteen tears ago the Cava family in Castroville, CA offered free Thanksgiving dinner to some of their neighbors on their patio. This tradition grew for 18 years. They moved from their patio to the Castroville recreation center and ultimately fed more than 1000 people at one sitting.
Last year they announced that they would no longer be able to provide their traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the community. Much to my surprise one of my daughters stepped up and volunteered to continue the tradition. Why was I so astonished? She works full time. She is working on her Masters degree in grad school, had no experience doing something like this... and had only two weeks to organize the whole affair.
She solicited donations, organized more than 150 volunteers and ultimately provided Thanksgiving dinner for 1500 people and passed out 800 bags of groceries for families to take home. And she is doing it again this year. Wow! God bless the Cava family for starting the tradition and Jamieko and her sister, Beth, and all those who are contributing time and money to keep it going.
Last year they announced that they would no longer be able to provide their traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the community. Much to my surprise one of my daughters stepped up and volunteered to continue the tradition. Why was I so astonished? She works full time. She is working on her Masters degree in grad school, had no experience doing something like this... and had only two weeks to organize the whole affair.
She solicited donations, organized more than 150 volunteers and ultimately provided Thanksgiving dinner for 1500 people and passed out 800 bags of groceries for families to take home. And she is doing it again this year. Wow! God bless the Cava family for starting the tradition and Jamieko and her sister, Beth, and all those who are contributing time and money to keep it going.
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