At thanksgiving, one of those things that always comes up is how to better help those in need.
My grandparents have taught me to always be generous, and lead by example, giving away copious amounts of produce from their gardens. For their 50th wedding anniversary, when I was away in Central Asia, I brought a few dozen pounds of cherries, watermelons, and the gas to bring them up to a settlement at 3500-4000 meters ASL.
It was just one of those spur of the moment ideas, that even if I can't solve world hunger, I can make some kids' lives a lot better with a little colorful. Not that its the most nutritious, but its fun, foreign, and something that makes life more pleasant. When my grandfather talks about growing up during the war in occupied Europe, he always mentions the scarcity of food, and the joy he got from simple pleasures of butter and oranges. I feel the same when I bite into a fresh Washington apple when returning home.
Warmth is the other thing that becomes necessary to share. I probably wouldn't be an avid skier if I didn't have a warm house to return to, a roaring fire, a puffy jacket, fuzzy slippers. And yet while we notice having a warm coat, we often don't remember the scarfs, buffs, gloves and hats we are wearing that prevent creeping cold from getting in, or the warm long underwear we have underneath. When I was in the Republic of Georgia last time, I brought over a duffel of warm clothes that stay warm when wet (unlike cotton), and am collecting donations to bring over another bag this spring. When I see pictures of kids wearing somewhat ridiculous western hats something is sad inside that they aren't wearing lovingly hand-knit garments, but I know they are warm.
Despite almost always wearing shorts, this idea of sharing warmth remains through the summer. When brainstorming with Sounders FC about possible collaborations between Sounders and my then-employer PEMCO insurance, I decided to push for a scarf drive. Uniting PEMCO's passion for caring for neighbors and soccer fans' passion for scarves seemed perfect. Others pushed for school competitions, cute kids playing soccer... but somehow I convinced higher ups of the power of scarves. And now, the donations are at 8000+ pieces of warm clothing for Seattle's homeless. The only mistake: collecting scarves before the game, rather than after.
