Take a moment to be Santa Claus...

Its Holiday season - the lights are on the trees, holiday songs are on the radio, snow is on the ground (in Denver, at least). In the office, HALO elves have been preparing our gift catalog that represents holiday gifts for the children we support along with around the year needs.

One would think its Christmas morning every day at HALO homes. The excitement and gratitude at the dinner table, the art table, or on a walk to school overwhelms visitors with a powerful warmth that makes the heart feel like it has grown a few sizes.

It is the season of giving. At HALO that means giving a brighter future to children in need.  It means giving a family's love to children who have no parents to wake up to each morning. Join us in making this holiday special for a HALO child.  Click here to step into Santa's shoes by flipping through the HALO gift catalog and selecting a gift in honor of someone you love.  Go ahead, be Santa for a day...

A Meal a Month

When I was growing up my 4 siblings, dad, and I would scurry out the door in the morning to school and work, each of us grabbing a personalized brown bag of lunch.  My mom drew pictures every morning of each of us on our bags (which were many times embarrassing) that referred to something we had at school that day like one of us passing a test or playing a sport.  

Patrick and Kevin enjoying a morning snack and tea (Kenya).

There is nothing like sitting down with a table full of kids after they have been outside playing or at work in the classroom.  At HALO supported homes there isn't a lot of talking, just milk running down the sides of mouths and light speed peeling of oranges, which makes the dinner table a place of pure joy.  These are children who have been without many meals in their lives and their gratitude is evident in each bite... there are no complaints or special requests, just pure gratitude.

We have started a new campaign called A Meal a Month where donors can sign up to provide one meal for a HALO home (25 children) for just $10 per month.  Join us by brown baggin' it for a day a month (you may even draw yourself a picture) and spend that $10 you save on making 25 kids smile... It is a small reminder of how fortunate we are and the impact we are able to make with a small sacrifice.  Click here to give A Meal a Month!

The Respect Challenge

Respect: The state of being regarded with honor or esteem.

Martial Arts curriculum is more than kicks and punches. In fact, the most valuable things I learned in my 15 years have to do with life skills and character. Every two months, we identify a life skill, define it, and apply it to our lives.

Preparing curriculum for the Karate class at the HALO Center this week has lead me to settle on respect as our first life skill. All students must define the word respect and give examples of how they have practiced it at home, school, and at the center.

In order to make us stronger as individuals and as a team, we have asked not only the kids, but everyone working with HALO to do this. I challenge you to do so as well. Identify 3 ways you can better respect yourself, respect others, and respect the world you live in. Feel free to post them below.



These are my personal respect goals for myself and for HALO:

Personal
Respect myself: Challenge myself, be open to change, be aware and present with everyone around me.
Respect others: Put myself in another person's shoes and often, have compassion for people who don't live like I think they should, listen actively and with intent, speak with a polite tone and positive attitude.
Respect the world I live in: Be grateful for what I have and share it.

HALO
Respect the volunteer: Be conscious of the volunteer's time, be aware that an overcommitment is a good intention, be clear of our expectations.
Respect the donor: Be a good steward of funding, clearly communicate updates and needs, be overly grateful for a donation of any amount.
Respect the child: Be careful with information about the child, respect the culture, respect the future for the child.
Respect co-workers: Respect the time of others (keep appointments and be early for them), speak with utmost respect to each other (never talk down to or over), be open to the ideas of others and always work as a team.

If you had any additions to this list as a volunteer or donor, please post them below.


”Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves.” --Ralph Waldo Emerson

A little big impact

I have a story to share about one little boy's immense compassion and ability to make a difference.  For the past 4 years, he has been raising awareness and funding to improve the lives of HALO children in need.  This weekend, Spencer hosted a Halloween party to continue this mission. This is an excerpt from an email his mom sent to HALO:

"...the children had a suggested $5.00 donation to attend.  They had a scavenger hunt where they got a certain number of points for different things that they found.  One of the items was a donation for HALO where they got 3 points for every dollar they received.  Spencer's team got $31 and some change donated!  One house gave him a $20.  Anyway, with the "admittance fee" and scavenger hunt they earned $101.04. We had a lot of fun tonight and the kids were made aware of HALO and orphans.  One of the boys said, "There really isn't such a thing as orphans!"  So, I took him to the website to look.  He took the website home and said that he was going to show his mom.  It was neat to see the kids become aware of something new that is outside of their comfort zone."

Spencer's idea raised awareness, involvement, and support for children in need.  It also sparked an idea for all of HALO... why not offer this opportunity to all of our supporters?  As we approach the Season of Giving, you too can add a little HALO flavor to your office, home, school, or church Holiday Party, giving a brighter future to a child in need.  Please consider making HALO part of your Holiday spirit.

Click here to read more about how you can make a little big impact.  Thanks for the idea, Spencer.