Troop 652 - Round Two!!

The girls of troop 652 modeled some of the finished hats and scarves after they worked on the projects they've been making! Many of them turned in an item, or plan to finish one by next Friday!

In the Holiday Spirit

When I was an extremely young child, Thanksgiving was a reason to paint your hand brown, stick it on a piece of contstruction paper, and make a turkey for your parents. It was an excuse to hype yourself up on sugar and carbs with family. I was a pint-sized package of energy, ready to bounce off of my grandparents' walls.

While I have always realized that Thanksgiving is much more than a stuff-your-face break from school, or especially, just a pre-emptive strike on Black Friday, it took me a good number of years to truly have the message of Thanksgiving land with a THUNK right in front of my eyes.

The thing about Thanksgiving is that it is nowhere near as simple as it is presumed to be. It is a time to be thankful, yes, but to limit it to that is a sin of its own kind. Knowledge not put into action does nothing. In a world of such infinite, earth-shattering need, complacent inactivity is as destructive as any intentional greed or malfeasance. For this reason, as well as many others, any person who has a mind coupled with such morals and knowledge cannot resign themselves to complacent living.

So, whether or not your turkey (or other entree of choice) has been carved yet and devoured, let your heart, mind, and soul consume the second half of this holiday's name: Giving.

Tick. Tock.

The essential parts of a handmade gift are the thoughts, care and prayers that comprise a person’s creation of the gift.  When I am making a gift for a friend, I take delight in choosing just the right materials that I think they will find appealing.  I think about the gift of their friendship, and the meaning that they bring to my life. During the time I am creating their gift, I think about the time that we spend together.

A Caring Caps hat or scarf takes a minimum of 10 hours, 600 minutes or 36,000 seconds to create.  It is during this act of creation that caring thoughts that are offered up for the children, women, and men in our community who are in need. As Caring Caps volunteers we are concerned that there are those in our community who are hungry, cold and in need. With 33 completed projects, that means that over 1,188,000 seconds have been put into caring for others in our community. The Caring Caps Project is about making loving handmade gifts for those in need.  More importantly, it is about increasing awareness of the issues of poverty in our community and calling everyone to be willing to do their part to make a difference.

Over 25 people are now actively making hats and scarfs for Caring Caps. Most of their gifts are not completed. I am eagerly anticipating the increasing numbers of handmade gifts for this holiday season that will be donated to Operation Happiness.  Next week, a third group is going to start the journey of learning to knit in love.  Even if you never pick up a pair of knitting needles, a crochet hook or a knitting loom, I hope that you will find time to care about others around you. Time spent caring for others can change the lives of others as well as your life!  There is no greater meaning in the time you spend.

Tick. Tock. Hurry - time is passing.