The holiday season is upon us and it calls for us to reflect on what is truly important in our lives. If you turn on your television during this season you will find ads describing that next amazing gift that you are going to want to put on your wish-list. While unwrapping these gifts can be a great experience, we have found at the Women’s and Children’s Alliance that giving back can be just as rewarding, or more so, than receiving. This time of year is about more than our individual wants; it is about our community.
Being at the Women’s and Children’s Alliance we have the opportunity to witness everyday how even a small gift can make a complete difference in someone’s life. This gift can be as simple as donating a nice new coat to the Shop that a client then picks out to wear in the winter, or a classroom full of third graders doing a donation drive. Giving out a shoe card can be the starting point to break the cycle of abuse one is trapped in. Looking someone in the eye and saying the abuse that they have suffered is not their fault. All of these are gifts in their own right. Our community is impacted in a positive way through these little actions we can all take.
Gandhi once said that “you must be the change you wish to see in the world” and the change we want to see here at the WCA is all community members thriving in healthy and safe relationships. Giving to us means creating change within the Treasure Valley because we are all a part of this community. We are striving towards there being no more domestic violence and sexual assault every day in the services we provide, but those services are only possible because others are also looking to be this change. Giving thanks then goes hand in hand with giving back.
We would like to say thank you to those who have given back to us throughout this year, past years, and those who will give during this holiday season and beyond. When someone comes and gives their time, talents or treasure to the WCA we have an ability to then provide for our clients. The work that we do is not feasible without the support of our community. In this newsletter we would like to highlight just a few of these moments that have happened in the past month.
