Giving really does matter. For those who have given a lot to others you need to know that “all you have given has been received and that you are making a difference”. I am here to thank you for all of us who have been on the receiving end of your kindness and generosity from giving people like you”. Not everyone will be able to come back and thank you, but I am thanking you for all of us who received your kindness.
I received one present every Christmas from the Joliet, IL, Lions club on December 23rd with my name on it when I was in the Guardian Angel Home orphanage from 1963-1968. It was only present I ever got every year from when I was 8 until 14 while at the orphanage with my name on it and I have never forgotten it. I had a chance to go back to Joliet as a guest of the Joliet Rotary Club last year to thank the town and those Lions of Joliet. I wanted them to know that they really had made a difference for me and all of us orphans over many years. I told them I was there to thank them for what their grandparents had done for us as kids. You could have dropped a pin in the room and heard it. I witnessed a lot of grown people in tears when they heard this message. They were empowered to know they have and are making a difference. We need our society to continue to reach out to our neighbors, not government, to make us a better society and country. That is what America was built on. Giving really does make us better and makes a difference. So don’t stop giving!