Koinos Summer Campaign

Sometimes I feel worried.  Worried that my kids are spoiled.  Worried that they are too narcissistic.  My seven-year-old had a near meltdown this morning when I said no to his request for having a friend over today.  He must honestly suffer from short-term memory loss.  Do you realize, Dylan, that you have been with friends every day this week so far?  Did you hear that I said you could have a friend over tomorrow?  Do you know that the world doesn't revolve around you???

Yeah, my kids have it good.  Really good.  Thus, part of my suburban gal complex.  And another reminder to me how important it is to challenge their experience, broaden their perspective.  This week offered a great opportunity for that.

Our faith community Koinos holds an annual campaign every summer, where we canvas close to 10,000 homes in a four-day period, dropping off at every door a plastic bag and a list of items needed at Berks Women in Crisis.  We then drive around with pickup trucks and minivans on a Saturday morning and collect all of the donations left on our neighbors' front porches.   From there, the items are carted to an undisclosed location where staff await with open arms and tears in their eyes, grateful for the largest donation they receive each year.  Needless to say, it is a very cool experience. 

The kids and I participated in yesterday's morning shift and then again as a family in this evening's shift.  Sure, it's not that life-changing.  They get to walk around with their friends up and down sidewalks and driveways for a couple of hours.  But it does get tiring; they do get hungry; and sometimes it's rainy or real hot.  And they get to hear from Mom and Dad how these donations are going to help a lot of moms and kids who need diapers and shampoo and cereal, etc.... Moms and kids who don't even have a safe home, if any, to stay at.


So, yes, my kids are a little spoiled.  They certainly are extremely lucky.  But once again I must choose to turn that "survivors guilt" into motivation to use our privilege as a blessing.  We have strong legs, full bellies, and time.  That's more than enough to be grateful for.

If you haven't yet stumbled into a Ten Thousand Villages store, you absolutely MUST!  It is my favorite place to shop for a number of reasons.  First of all, the stuff!  They have gorgeous, handmade items from all around the world - jewelry, handbags, scarves, blankets, dishes, decorations for the home, rugs, baskets, even chocolate, coffee, and tea.  Secondly, but more importantly, everything they sell in their stores is fair-traded, so that hard-working groups and individual artisans can actually make a fair, livable wage for their work.  Finally, the store nearest me, in Ephrata, PA, has a cafe, and it is a lovely, little cafe' to meet up with friends for lunch or listen to live music on Friday nights.

So I must give a plug for their 18th Annual International Children's Festival which is tomorrow!  Our family went last year for the first time, and we loved it.  The kids made crafts, took a rickshaw ride, learned how to gather water from a village pump, and played games from other cultures.

So if you're in the Lancaster/Reading area and you don't have plans tomorrow, I'd highly recommend spending an hour or two at the festival.  It's a great opportunity to widen our children's eyes to the richly diverse world in which we live.