Generous

Sometimes it’s hard to think of a topic to blog about. I work in an office, after all, and am not tangibly seeing the life-change that our frontline staff are! That’s probably because I’ve definitely been called to sit behind a computer for the rest of my life, but that’s probably a story for another time.

I always see statistics about Calgary being a volunteer city and how upwards of 70% of people commit their time to something aimed at helping someone else, and I believe it! Granted, I’ve never worked at a similar organization in another city, but I do know that when an organization (or even a friend) needs help, they can usually find it! Everyone with a pickup truck knows what I’m talking about here. I truly believe that Calgarians are more generous than average – with their time, and their money, and this will always transfer to the children of those people.

For a few years at The Mustard Seed, I was Calgary’s go-to person for booking tours and speaking engagements, as well as the first informed when a 'third party' group wanted to do a fundraiser. When another staff is unable to commit to one of the above, I would be the one stepping in to execute the tour or speaking engagement, and through this I ended up meeting a ton of great kids, and for those I haven't met, I've heard countless inspiring stories. For a bit of inspiration this week, below are the kids and their projects.

 Robert is an 11 year old who tithes a certain amount from his allowance each month. When it is time to give away his tithe money, he researches an organization and finds one that he thinks is important, and then donates to them. This time around, he chose The Mustard Seed because from looking at our website he realized that we give people 'a hand up, not a hand-out'. Robert ended up donating $75.00 to The Mustard Seed.

Colton from Calgary Christian school enlisted his entire grade 3 class to donate. When I met Colton I was absolutely blown away by his leadership. I couldn't believe he had assembled the tribe that he did.

St. Rose of Lima Jr. High spent an entire year doing different things for The Mustard Seed. It all ended with a fundraising basketball game where the Sr. Boys and Sr. Girls basketball teams played the Stampeders. Well, the boys played. The girls giggled.

 JK Mulloy Elementary raised $1,700 from different projects to support the work of The Mustard Seed. I'm the adult in the back who looks like a kid with green hair.

 Megan enlisted the help of the Calgary Fire Department to raise over $1,000. She has also inspired many people to donate at and volunteer with The Mustard Seed and held fundraisers of her own. I first met her when she was 7 (a couple years before this picture, which was a couple years ago) and now I think she's older than I am.

Cat started something called "Kids for Kids" and collected an entire u-haul trailer full of gently used clothing for our guests.

Rob (left) started making sandwiches when he was 19. He's since won a ton of awards for his dedication to Spread the Love.

Tamara started making jewelry 5 years ago to sell to raise funds for The Mustard Seed. She then started selling her wares at the Farmer's Market and salons and branded it Heartprints for a Cause.

Lauren sells poinsettias at school every Christmas and usually donates around $1500 per year.

If you aren't too busy crying, like me, because you feel you've made nothing with your life, leave me a note in the comments and tell me an inspiring story about a child or young adult you know.