HELP, Lifting Hands, and Helping Hand

The holiday season is a time of generosity and giving, and local donations in Provo, Utah throughout the month of December managed to fill several cars with bags of warm winter clothes, clothes for babies, teens, women, and men, as well as shoes and coats.

Braxton and I organized a clothing drive for our friends in Provo, Utah, and were shocked by the response. We collected clothes for two hours at a party on December 1st, and for the next four weeks we got text messages and calls every single day from friends, family, and acquaintances asking when we would be home so they could drop off more bags of clothes that they rounded up from their own personal closets as well as from their friends and family. A local bishop and middle school teacher donated all of the coats from their lost and found, filling several 100 gallon garbage bags to the bursting with gently used winter gear. Every square inch of floor space in our tiny 400 square-foot studio apartment was covered with boxes and bags stacked several feet high; we could hardly move around the kitchen to make dinner!

As we contacted several different organizations to discuss partnering with them to ship the clothes that we had collected to refugees and displaced peoples around the world, our crowded apartment was a constant reminder during the growing anticipation of the holidays and a much needed break from school that no matter what is going on in our own lives, no matter how busy, how tired, how stressed we may be, each of us has the desire and capability to do good and help those who are in greater need than ourselves. Every time I tripped over a big box or bag as I ran out the door to class, my mind was directed to the millions of people all around the world who are fleeing their homes and not looking back, giving up their jobs and schools, communities and homes, to find refuge from conflict and hunger. More and more refugee camps are popping up in more and more countries and it seems like there isn't much we can do from the warmth and safety of our comfortable homes here. Sometimes the thought of trying to do anything is intimidating and enough to shut down any hope or desire to make a difference. But true generosity is found when those doubts and discouragements are set aside and the simple acts of giving up a favorite sweater or a jacket you don't wear anymore and donating it because you have enough and you know someone else doesn't.

When we contacted Lifting Hands International and told them about the true generosity of our neighbors and friends and the bags and bags of clothes we had waiting to be donated, they immediately told us about their partner, Helping Hand for Relief and Development, who has a donation warehouse in Pleasant Grove, Utah and ships relief aid all over the world to refugee communities. Helping Hand for Relief and Development is an Islamic associated organization that focuses on providing for the displaced peoples, war sufferers, and refugees fleeing many Middle Eastern countries or ethnic discrimination in places like Myanmar. Lifting Hands International has partnered with them for several years now, and we were lucky enough to be able to partner with both of these amazing organizations to get the clothes, coats, and shoes on large shipping containers to Jordan (for Palestinian, Syrian, and other refugees) and Bangladesh (for Rohingya refugees)! We borrowed a big red truck and loaded it and our own car full of bags and took it all to the warehouse. When we went inside the warehouse, I was overwhelmed with the amount of relief aid materials that were crammed into this place. It was a pretty huge warehouse, but it was stacked floor to ceiling with boxes and bags of food, hygiene kits, clothes, shoes, and blankets. There wasn't enough room for our bags! We had to put them in the office next door, and it barely all fit in there! We will be going back to that warehouse in a few weeks to help load the shipping containers, but every Tuesday and Wednesday Lifting Hands International opens the warehouse to any and all volunteers to help prepare and organize the aid and pack the boxes.

With our new friend Traci, from Lifting Hands International, at the donation warehouse.

 

After the unload.

The large shipping container to be filled with boxes and sent to Jordan. 

Organizations like HELP International and Lifting Hands International (who we actually met in Greece a few years ago while working in refugee camps) do a lot of good and make a big difference internationally, to the individuals and communities we work with, I am confident in that. However, it is always important to recognize the impact we can have domestically, among our own neighbors, too. Our friends were able to give of themselves and participate in this effort to make the world a better place. People from all over the state are able to donate their time any week to participate in the process of providing relief to sufferers in different countries. I think the opportunity to serve has the potential to make just as much of a difference to the person serving as the box of relief aid they packed does to the refugee receiving it. Every step of the entire process is capable of making a difference in the lives of many people, the providers and the recipients; from donating time, materials, and money, to volunteering skills, to traveling to and facilitating programs, to receiving the actual aid. I am thankful for our partnership with Lifting Hands International and Helping Hand for Relief and Development in this small donation effort because it will make a huge difference in the lives of all who participate, give, and receive.

I have thought about what it means to be generous and giving for the entire holiday season and into this new year, and I am starting to realize something: the act of giving and serving often have more of an impact on the lives of those providing the giving and serving than on the lives of those receiving the gifts and services. A jacket can make all the difference to a refugee, or it could be a small and insignificant thing to them, depending on the situation. But the person who gave it will remember the feeling of giving and will be more motivated to make it a habit and find out what really will make the biggest difference to the people they are trying to help, instead of giving only once a year during the holidays. So never underestimate the power of your service and donations, in whatever form they may be in, because if it isn't helping someone else (which usually it is) then it is still helping you help more people later.