Opportunities to Serve

We were so blessed to make it through Hurricane Sandy without any mishaps but others were not so fortunate, especially those in New York and New Jersey. The Sunday after the hurricane our church leaders put out a call for donations that would be driven up to New York and given to those most in need. The items asked for included winter clothing, winter coats, shoes, and blankets. Monday night our family headed to our Stake Center with donations as well as to stay and help in whatever way we could. When we walked in this is what met our eyes!

Tons of volunteers tackling the immense piles and bags of clothing that had to be sorted and packed up into boxes. We dove right in to help!

My little Mormon Helping Hands workers!

And hey, I even made the Mormon newsroom! That's me in the back with my wonderful University of Utah shirt on. (I bet those BYU Mormons absolutely hated seeing that - Utes are supposed to be a bunch of drunks, not good Mormons doing service!)

It was such a rewarding night and I truly hope the kids remember the part they played in helping out those whose lives were devastated by this horrible storm.

Bright and early the next morning the kids and I joined a few other families from our ward to sell baked goods to help raise money for those same Hurricane Sandy victims. We set up shop outside the elementary school hoping to draw people to our little stand after they stopped in to vote.

We were extremely successful, raising over $300 to send to those in need. It was wonderful to see how good people can be in a crisis! We had people hand us $10 and $20 without purchasing anything but just wanting to contribute. I am so grateful for these wonderful opportunities we have had lately to serve others.