I met Michael in a Boston subway station. I told him I liked his sign. “What matters is what it means to you,” he told me. I asked what it meant to him. “Doing a deed or expressing kindness to another person without expecting anything in return,” Michael said. I love approaching strangers wherever I go. Listening and talking to them teaches you about people and how similar we all are to one another. Just like Michael, we’re all seeking human kindness.

If you’re like me, the holidays invoke a need to serve those who are less fortunate. I love this part of Christmas! Collectively looking outside ourselves to serve and help others is at the heart of the holidays. This year, with the headache and heartache of Covid, I want to up my giving-game.

As I was searching my Christmas Pinterest board this morning, I came across a pin that I forgot I had. It was a link to an article that advises how to put a meaningful and helpful care package together for those in the homeless community. As my girls and I are spending a whole lot more time together this holiday season, we’re going to take this time to give back in a bigger way.

Many of the suggestions in this article are a more costly, so you may only be able to do one or two care packages. If you want to do more, this would be a great activity to do with multiple families or even a youth group. It would be easy to take this list, divide it up and buy multiples of each item. Of course with Covid, please take caution in avoiding large gatherings to assemble the items.