Give

give - to present or deliver voluntarily to the permanent possession of another or others.

As I sit and reflect on what giving means, I realize that the joy of giving is actually what makes giving anything so great. When you give a birthday present to a child, their reaction and joy is worth the money you spent on the gift. When you give time out of your busy schedule to sit with your grandparents and listen to their stories, the realization that slowing down and enjoying them while you can makes your day. We shouldn’t expect anything when we give. The results are usually better than what we could have imagined.

You may recall in our last newsletter that we gave BIG this year to six organizations through Danos GIVES. While we don’t expect anything more from the organizations than a few updates throughout the year and a signed letter, to know that they are putting our funds to extraordinary use makes my heart smile. We’re doing something right, and it’s evident.

So, what are the organizations doing with the money?

We gave The Life of a Single Mom $50,000.  WOW, $50,000?! With that, they were able to enroll 250 single mothers into their Single Mom University program. This means each mother is enrolled for one year with access to 162 total courses, including video lectures, quizzes, chat room with other students, and additional learning resources for each subject. 

In addition, 24 women were sent to a boot camp for 2.5 days in Norwood, Louisiana, where they all were required to take Single Mom University as an eligibility to attend the event. Their cell phones were taken away for the weekend to remove distractions. These women received room and board, as well as in-person workshops, prayer, team-building activities, aerobics classes, archery, hiking, and canoeing. Each night, they were required to do journaling and self-reflection and offered licensed counseling upon graduation from the event. It was powerful.

“I feel like I gained a family. I didn’t want to leave. The laughing was much needed and enjoyed! One of my favorite parts was being in a circle at the campfire and being able to share our hearts. I don’t want anyone else to hurt or have to go through rough things, but because they did and were willing to share, it helped me to see that I am not alone.” Said a bootcamp participant.

The Dulac Community Center received $10,000 from Danos GIVES. After a rough year for the Dulac community due to damages from Hurricane Ida, the Community Center is standing strong with our help. On the second Tuesday of each month, they host a drive through food distribution where they serve 90 families each month.  That is 22 more families per month compared to last year. Our funds have helped to add bread and fresh fruit to the standard food boxes distributed. This year, they have served 542 cases of food and they expect to match but probably exceed that in the second half of the year.

WOW! Those are just two of the organizations we gave to this year. Stay tuned, there’s plenty more to share.

Brittney

GIVES Chair