How to avoid the Thanksgiving-Christmas rush in July

When I was in elementary school my maternal grandmother died. We lived in a small town in North Texas and my family was one of the pillars of the community.  I believe one image I somehow remember from the first Thanksgiving meal after her death has given me a slightly different approach to helping the poor during the Thanksgiving-Christmas season. The image is a plate of fried quail; a delicacy to be sure. Someone had gone hunting and brought my family the gift of quail for our Thanksgiving meal. However, that someone left and we were left alone in our grief. 

Since then, I have viewed the flurry of donating to whatever cause at this time with a bit of caution. While I know almost all agencies depend on this time of year for serving God’s poor for the months ahead, I also know his poor are still poor in July. So I spend my energies before Thanksgiving and after Christmas doing what I can to help fill in the gaps this holy season of giving does not supply.

I have listed agencies (all are in Corpus Christi) below if this idea speaks to you. Did you know that some 25 percent of produce is discarded before it hits the produce shelves? Perhaps a Scout troop or an Eagle Scout looking for a project could contact various food markets to donate imperfect fruit and vegetables and then drop them off at the locations suggested. Also confirmandi students could do the same.
 
If you would like to sponsor a food drive, contact Sylvia de la Cerda at (361) 887-6291, ext. 104 for guidelines.
  The last two groups are Housing and Rehabilitation Support for Recovery from Addiction.
Finally, pray for those who work with God’s poor for Jesus made himself poor for our sakes.

I discovered a great spiritual insight several years as I watched the movie, Finding Forrester. In one scene Sean Connery’s character advises a teen-aged friend on how to win a young girl’s heart. Not only did it work but it also applies to God’s poor. The advice was simple, “An unexpected gift at an unexpected time.”
 
While giving at Thanksgiving and Christmas will always be important, it takes a special kind of spiritual person to to give at an unexpected time.