By Liz Andolong - P*SF Marketing Member
Hello and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I apologize for the delay in posts… it’s been a crazy few months! What better time to update my blog than the day before Thanksgiving?
This year, I was fortunate to snag seven spots at Glide Memorial to serve food on Thanksgiving Day. For those who don’t know, Glide Memorial is a huge community in SF which serves food and offers shelter every day, every Sunday, and even has a church where they offer Sunday services. It’s also the place where Chris Gardner (aka Will Smith) stayed with his son in the movieThe Pursuit of Happyness.
To be a part of a historic community on this Thanksgiving in the city I was born and raised in is a HUGE milestone in my life. For years, while in a post-tryptophan-induced coma, my family has always garbled about how next year they’ll spend Thanksgiving volunteering. Soon, next year became the year after that and the year after that.
This year, I did my research, looking into a few other soup kitchens for a potential Philanthro SF event, when I realized that I could take this opportunity to sign my family up! So sign all seven of us up, I did. Now all of us, and my amazing friend Jenn, will be working tomorrow morning to serve food to the less fortunate.
As I look at the past 11 months, I have so much to be thankful for. While this may turn into a huge post about every minute thing I’m thankful for (which I’ll save for my prayers tonight), I want to turn this into an opportunity to encourage all of you to step out of your comfort zones and challenge yourselves. I know that life can get busy – all too well, I do – but I honestly believe in every person’s capacity to effect change. While we may have varying levels of availability, a bit of your time can mean more than one would think.
A few weekends ago, I was able to take part in a nation-wide fundraising event called ALLiance 11.11.11, where all 5 chapters of Philanthro raised money forDonors Choose. With my limited amount of time, I was able to communicate a message and propose an idea – an original PSA to encourage people to donate their time and/or money to help raise money for the cause. Despite not being able to have full creative control of the entire project, the PSA was conceived, edited, and turned around in less than 3 days! And this was the final project:
I’m thankful for the gifts I’ve been given and the opportunities I’ve taken up to showcase them and use them towards a greater good. If anything, I hope this inspires you all to take a moment, see what you’re thankful for and that those skills and gifts motivate you to share them with your community.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
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