wearing: blue hoodie sweatshirt / black long sleeve tee with “21” on the back c/o adidas / black and pink long sleeve tee c/o adidas / blue tee / pants c/o adidas / Superstar Shoes /

My children are growing up in bubble. I will admit it. They live in a comfortable home, with plenty of food on the table. If they want a new dress, or a new pair of shoes, I can buy it for them. My older girls have their own phones, and all three of my kids have their own iPad’s. They are privileged, and it is hard to tell them that they are privileged, because they don’t understand what that really means.

When my kids turn on the television, they see sitcom’s with families living in nice homes, with plenty of food and fashionable clothing. They don’t see kids who live in homes where the power has been turned off because the parents don’t have enough money to pay the bill, or worse, they don’t see kids living in tents because their family doesn’t have enough money to put a roof over their head.

In order to help my kids understand that what they have, and that they should not take it all for granted, I ensure they are exposed to the community at large. I need to make sure they understand the importance of giving back to the community.

Once my daughters entered middle school, I started doing volunteer work with them around Silicon Valley. I thought it was important for them to understand how many people are in need, and that if we work together, we can help them. You don’t always have to donate money, donating time is just as important.

My daughters have learned a lot through volunteering for the community. We have put together care packages for deployed troops, made corsages for Mom’s with children who have cancer, assisted with an event at a local museum, worked in a food pantry, harvested food for a food bank (yes, we picked fruit from trees!), worked on school fundraisers, and much more! They have learned that not everyone has their health, people put their lives on the line for the freedom of others, and there are people who don’t have money for food.

Volunteering has opened their eyes to the world outside their bubble in our affluent, suburban town where many people are concerned with buying new cars, remodeling their homes, and investing in the hottest new start-up. Through volunteer work, my daughters are seeing the big picture; not everyone has access to things we take for granted which are basic needs; food, clothing, and shelter.

When we are working hard harvesting food, making things for people in need, and more, we need to be comfortable! Thankfully adidas supports people giving back to the community, and they create the perfect, comfortable clothing to help use be as efficient as possible. I love their comfortable pants which help me bend down and move around when I am volunteering. It would be hard to work in anything else!

The holiday season is during the coldest part of the year. Many people are freezing and in need of more help than ever. Please take some time to find a place in your community this holiday season that could use your time. There is no greater gift, than the gift of time.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

*thank you to adidas for sponsoring this post