Unambiguously Generous

Way back in 1964, the late children’s poet and author Shel Silverstein published one of his most popular works, a book entitled The Giving Tree. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the classic children’s book, it is the story of a tree who continually gives whatever is asked of him by a little boy, in each stage of the boy’s life. What makes this story somewhat unusual amongst others in children’s literature is that interpretations about the moral and themes of this story vary widely from person to person. Some see the story as sad, whereas others see it as a story about unconditional love. However, we at the Humanitarian Service Project have our own “giving trees” around here which are much less ambiguous. Our “giving trees” are gifts provided by donors (who are as generous as Shel Silverstein’s giving tree) to make Christmas special for needy children, or senior citizens. Unlike Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, we think the verdict on our giving tree donors is much more cut and dry; they are amazing!

With the senior giving tree gifts having been delivered to the needy seniors yesterday, and the first families coming to pick up the children’s giving trees this Saturday, we wanted to take this opportunity to extend our thanks for the wonderful generosity of all of our giving tree donors. All of the drivers who delivered the gifts to the needy seniors yesterday said that the seniors were overjoyed to receive all of the wonderful gifts generously donated by their giving tree donors. Steve Stasiak, who delivered the giving tree gifts to all of the needy seniors we serve in Bensenville (plus 2 others,) said “it was very clear that these gifts were making a big impact in [the seniors] lives.” We want to thank all of our fantastic giving tree donors for devoting their time and money to make such a big impact in the lives of the needy seniors and children we serve.