Every year at Christmas as my brothers and I were growing up my parents would do something special for others and often times we would take on a project as a family. One particular Christmas that stands out for me was when two teenage boys from the area Sheriff Boys Ranch came to our house and spent Christmas day with us. We had presents for them and I remember being outside in our front yard riding bikes and enjoying the weather with them. When my parents had grandchildren and once the kids became old enough to grasp giving to help others, each Christmas my father would give each of the grand kids a roll of quarters with the caveat that this roll of quarters had to be given to an organization that helped others. An additional stipulation was that the organization could not be one they were directly affiliated with like Girl Scouts or their own church youth group. My sons always chose to give to a veterans organization like Wounded Warriors or Stand Up America. My daughter, being the animal lover that she is, always donated her quarters to the Humane Society. My children are now all young adults and their grandfather has passed on. But his spirit of giving back has only increased. For the past two summers my daughter has been a counsel for a Humane Society funded summer camp that teaches kids how to care for dogs using rescued dogs with the goal of getting them adopted by the campers. During this time my daughter fostered numerous puppies over the summers and recruited many friends to do the same. She is solely responsible for getting many of those shelter puppies adopted to good families through her great network of friends and the magic of social media! My oldest son has continued his service to others by volunteering with the Aussie Helpers drought farm relief organization while living in Australia for a year and now coaches a youth skeet shooting team while living in Hamilton, Montana working and attending college full time. My youngest son while in high school has volunteered numerous hours through MCJROTC in the annual Veterans Day parade and as a parade Marshall during the annual holiday parade here in Tallahassee. I have continued the tradition my father started and each Christmas give my kids a check for $10 to donate to the charity of their choice. They continue to donate to those organizations that have a special meaning to them; veterans and animals. I am so proud of them and their compassion for others and willingness to help others. And I know their Grandad would be so proud to know his tradition and spirit of giving back has left a great legacy. I have listed Legal Aid Foundation as the nonprofit of choice as I have worked for LAF for over 13 years. I have seen first hand what free legal service to the indigent citizens of Leon County can do to better the lives of so many; from helping a family stay in their home to getting a child reunited with a parent to helping a college student with a landlord tenant issue. LAF makes many small contributions and helps solve many small problems but also helps change peoples' lives forever through the magnificent, generous time and resources of area volunteer lawyers.
Review from #MyGivingStory