While people are charitable and good all year long, generosity does seem to abound over the holidays. During this time of year between Thanksgiving and New Years, when the days are getting shorter and the weather is getting colder, we are drawn into our homes and into our selves for warmth, introspection, and remembrance. Goodness knows no financial constraints. From the very rich to the very poor, kindness is abundant as all walks of people share their time, talents, and treasures with others.
Like many of us, I have spent a great deal of time with family throughout the last week in particular. Part of connecting with family is disconnecting from social media. When the festivities were through, and I went back to the nightly scrolling while watching some TV, the first posts that The Algorithm thought to show me were of people being giving and grateful. I wanted to highlight the very first three posts that came across my feed to reflect on the sincerity in our community. Good things deserve praise, even though that wasn't the intent of doing them.
Starting on December 13th and going right up until Christmas, Govani Dental did a 12 Days of Giving event. She presented cheques for $1000 each to twelve different nonprofits, ranging from CADASI to the Oshkosh Youth Symphony Orchestra. This was a great one to get on my feed. While I don't know Dr. Govani personally, I have seen her at the YMCA before, and I remember reading her philanthropic story in the news once upon a time. The Govani Gives Fund through the Community Foundation serves as a portal to manage their charitable giving and focus the funds where they are most needed. Very cool.
Carmen Leal is a top contributor to the "You Know You're From Oshkosh When..." Facebook page. She's also a friend of mine through Oshkosh Southwest Rotary and the Oshkosh Chamber Singers. Last year she wrote a book entitled I Chose You: Imperfectly Perfect Rescue Dogs and Their Humans. It's a good book! Carmen is an animal lover and a philanthropist. This particular post highlighted her final book signing of the year at Firehouse Subs (another great example of a charitable business). Carmen donates a large portion of her book sales to Second Chance North to help more rescue dogs find their forever families.
I'm so happy that one of the first three positive charitable posts that I saw when I came back online was from the City. City of Oshkosh Human Resources posted: "The City of Oshkosh Employee Wellness Committee coordinated a Holiday Giving Drive from November 20 to December 4 for the Day by Day Warming Shelter & Oshkosh Area Community Pantry, which was a huge success!" This was a collaborative drive between City employees and private citizens. Bravo to all involved.
It should go without saying, but this is just a sampling of holiday cheer found all over the City. You could just as easily highlight businesses who sponsored community nights out to Celebration of Lights, students who made Christmas gifts for residents at skilled nursing homes, or the hundreds of people who were ringing bells for Salvation Army this month. Churches all over ramp up giving this time of year too. My church for example, First Congregational Church, did a "reverse advent" where church members brought in needed goods for various charities, and our holiday giving tree benefits the Oshkosh Area Humane Society.
Thank you to anyone who made extra efforts to emphasize that the holidays are a time of giving. You remind us all about the goodness of our community, and you restore my faith in humanity.
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