YouSendIt Celebrating the Holidays

We’ve had this Christmas tree in our office for the last few weeks….

It’s just a little one- nothing grandiose- standing a bit taller than our cubicles- covered in white lights and small gift tags… the Christmas wishes of kids from around the San Francisco Bay Area.

A very cool charity organization called the Family Giving Tree, http://www.familygivingtree.org/ , works with more than 250 social service agencies to make the holidays a bit more joyful for kids in difficult situations.  They produce gift tags printed with a child’s wish, and distribute them to more than 900 participating schools, banks, and businesses- like ours- where donors can select a tag and return it- taped to the unwrapped gift. 

The tags on our little tree disappeared one by one, and were slowly replaced with Cabbage Patch Kids, Toy Trucks, Games, and WWF figures….

Last Friday I had the privilege of driving the YouSendIt contributions over to the GIANT Family Giving Tree warehouse which was bustling with efficient volunteers, ready to get those gifts into the tiny hands of their intended recipients. Everyone involved felt like Santa himself! 

There were SO MANY toys in that building, and a line of cars patiently waiting to contribute to the growing collection….

And as I drove away, I couldn’t help but think- that the quantity I was seeing, was really representative of a deficit.  Because, for every toy I saw unloaded and piled up- there was a need… somewhere.

I felt so proud to be a part of this YouSendIt team who, in the midst of building a business and turning out products, takes the time to pull small gift tags from a little tree and make the holiday’s brighter for kids we’ll never meet.

We encourage those who can, to do the same.  Check out the Family Giving Tree…. Or find a local community organization… a gift, an hour, or even a couple clicks for an online donation. 

The best-kept Christmas secret is that giving back is really the best gift you’ll get.

Happy Holidays from your YouSendIt team.

Comments

[William Peterman]

That's the spirit... Good Job YouSendIt! Those kids will have something to look forward to because of your generosity.

BTW... I'm using YouSendIt to send my wish list to Santa (It's a pretty long list).

Thanks,

William

[Brent Mann]

Merry Christmas and may all of you have a Healthy, Happy & Prosperous " 2008 " New Year....cheers.

All The Best,

Brent

www.millions.mybpi.com