international house: I know this is not marriage/divorce but at least you aren't 13 year olds and I know most of you. Let me tell you about an idea my husband had. 2 years ago he went to a high school in the poorest part of the area we lived in. He wanted to find a student who was driven to go to college in the sciences but was up the creek for money to do so. Not some kid who doesn't care about school, but someone who wanted a 4.0 GPA and get a scholarship. He offered his free services as a science tutor to a few students and asked the principal to nominate or put him in touch with them. His intention was to help one student but ended up chosing 5 and he set up a study group to meet at a McDonalds (almost) every Saturday morning, with breakfast on him. Of those 5, 2 of them quit shortly after realizing he was not there to do their homework for them, but the other 3 held on and they finished out the term with hugely improved science grades. One of them landed a full scholarship and the other two got partial scholarships. Although I realize most people don't have the time to do such a thing, most people have some skill they can do to help someone out, which is probably more useful than dropping a Barbie doll in a box or cutting a check for $50. If you're good with your hands, offer to fix someone's porch, window, etc. Or pay for their kids to go to the dentist. Something with a tangible benefit. Have you any good ideas or stories? Still feeling good from all the turkey :) Allison|||My husband and I are always finding some way to help out someone with something other than money, even though that can and is very helpful as well. Just this morning I donated a rather decent amount to a local family that had just laid the husband to rest after he was killed in Iraq. Those stories always tug at my heartstrings since I know, being a military wife, I could very well be in that same position one day. The husband left behind a young wife, a set of 3 yr old twins and a one year old. We both are heavily involved in charities that matter to us. I spend time at the humane society, taking care of animals. He is a "big brother" to a little boy that has no father figure in his life. We spend time fixing things for our elderly neighbors or mowing their lawn. I started a support group for spouses/families of deployed soldiers since the one on our base meets only once a month. I spend multiple nights/hours on the phone with fellow military spouses, helping them cope with the roller-coaster of emotions....because sometimes, they just need someone to listen. While the spouse is deployed, I not only send the deployed spouse a care package, but I also offer up babysitting services to the spouse at home so they can take a break. I offer to cook up dinner or take care of a few chores, since I know it is incredibly hard to adjust. And...of course, the most important....I offer up a night or two of babysitting so the mom and dad can get re-acquanted after deployment. |||That's a touching story. This year our company sent out many boxes of cards to soldiers in Iraq. Although this may not seem personal, or one on one, many of these soldiers are very thankful that they get a chance to send their loved ones cards for the holidays. I think that's great. I have no real talents, but if I knew of somehow I could help someone this year, I certainly would do it.