Love Baskets

I "like" a lot of things on Facebook outside of my "friends" pages. Pages around my interests... food, nutrition, yoga/Pilates, music, gossip stuff like US Weekly, fashion, politics, and inspirational pages. Today on my newsfeed I saw this quote...

"God wrote your life as a story for someone to read - to change someone's life... What will the story say?"

Um.... WHOA. Read that again... SHHHHHT. That is heavy. I put my phone down and had a real "moment". I sat back and thought about that for a few minutes.

I talk to a lot of people who are worried that life is passing them by and they aren't REALLY living it, ya know what I mean? They are concerned that just because they can't quit their job and join the Peace Corps, or go work for a non-profit, or animal rescue, or start a REVOLUTION that they are not truly making change... impacting the world.... making it better for having been here. So... in the event that you are one of those people (like me), I decided that I would tell you about LOVE BASKETS (an easy/cost-effective/simple way to make a big difference in the lives of others).

I put mine together last week as a THANK-YOU for my friends at The Sandbox. I presented them on behalf of my entire (work) team. I asked The Sandbox to come to talk to my team about their work in the community and gifted them with two LOVE BASKETS as a token of my appreciation. They cost me $45 a piece. I got everything I needed at The Dollar Store and spent $90 in total (for 2 overflowing baskets). 

At first I was all like, DAAAANG... I can't swing spending $90 right now!! Then I thought.... "Hey, Jerk... how about giving up Starbucks, lunch/dinner out, a few drinks at the bar, or just one mindless trip to Target????" to help a family out? How about a small sacrifice to give someone what you take for granted. Let me explain....

LOVE BASKETS are actual baskets (usually laundry baskets) full of household items. They are given to families who need them. Families who have a child with a life-altering (sometimes terminal) illness. Can you imagine... your child gets diagnosed with cancer and you still have to worry about every day things like going to the grocery store after work? I am sure that picking up toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, and Windex may not be in the forefront of your mind. BUT... someone giving you a basket full of what you need helps you from a practical standpoint and also makes you feel less alone somehow; knowing that someone you may never meet went out of their way, spent their money and took their time to help you. A LOVE BASKET may not cure your child, but it's like a big, warm pair of arms wrapping around you when you need it most, reminding you that you are not alone... that someone out there cares.

If you want to put together a Love Basket by yourself, with your friends, classroom, co-workers, church group, yoga class, etc. Just reach out to The Sandbox via a message on Facebook, or e-mail them from their website. Tell them you heard about it here if you'd like a soft introduction.

My LOVE BASKETS: