My two oldest daughters are signed up for their high school's travel-abroad trip planned for Spring 2017. They are primarily responsible for paying for this trip. The trip, plus passports, will cost about $3,500.00 each! I had several boxes of chocolate leftover from a PTO fundraiser. We decided to make chocolate part of our fundraising plan. Jim, Monroe, and Beth wanted to help too. I was grateful because, in my experience, people are more likely to buy chocolate bars from cute little elementary students than from adult-sized high school students.
We've gone out a few times for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours each time. I am amazed at the generosity of my neighbors. Sure, we got several straight "No, thank you" responses. We got a few "I don't have any cash" responses. But for the most part the response was, "Of course! Wait a minute while I find some cash/change". These dear neighbors reached into their wallets. A few neighbors bought five or ten bars, depending on the bill denomination they'd found. More often they would buy only one or two bars. These neighbors were digging through their drawers and coin purses to find enough change to buy a bar. As I watched one neighbor present my child with a handful of change in exchange for one chocolate bar, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my neighbors!
I know that in our present culture, cash is typically not kept on hand. We rely heavily on debit and credit cards. People don't have cash or coins. And yet, these dear neighbors dug deep in their pockets and drawers to find a stray dollar bill or a few coins--Just to help a fundraising kid succeed. I probably haven't adequately explained, but I am unsure what more I could write. I am simply and deeply grateful for the gracious generosity of my neighbors.
