Your kids will have the opportunity to help those whose struggles are things we often take for granted. This includes staying warm, finding hot meals and keeping their appointments at the local mental health facility. We hear about the importance of diversity and sharing life with those with different backgrounds and life experiences. But it’s rarely spoken as sharing life with others in poverty or stricken with mental illness. 

Walt and I chose to raise our kids in a small town. We wanted them to spend a lot of time outdoors and get involved in their community. Now that they are grown, I am so thankful that we made that decision. We did get to know many people in town, particularly a crowd that have otherwise never had the privilege to know: the homeless. 

Twenty-five years ago, our family helped serve meals at our local community program for the homeless. We loved it so much that we decided to help with meals during Christmas. From then on, we committed to serving once each month. Not only were we preparing food, but we had the opportunity of getting to know the people we were helping.

In the beginning, our kids weren’t sold…