You know, I really have nothing to compare it to, given that I'm not on any Republican mailing lists, email or otherwise... So maybe Laura Bush sends out emails to people who supported her husband. I don't know.
But I do know that Michelle Obama sends out emails. And the one I just got from her - and many of you also received, I'm sure - really made me feel great.
Email and my own "Alternative" Christmas story over the fold.
Here's the email:
Rena --
This holiday season, the grassroots movement you helped build can make a big difference for those in need.
I hope you will join me in supporting your favorite charity or contributing to causes that are especially meaningful to me and my family.
While many of us will spend the holidays counting our blessings and sharing dinner with loved ones, millions of people around the country won't be so fortunate. Donating to your local food bank will help provide a holiday meal to people in your community who can't afford one.
Talking with the families of deployed troops was one of the most rewarding experiences I had during the campaign. Giving to Operation USO Care Package is a great way to send members of our military stationed around the world a reminder that someone back home is thinking of them.
This is a time to celebrate our blessings, the new year, and a new era for our country. But it's also a time to come together on behalf of those who need our help.
Do what you can to help today by locating your local food bank and giving your support:
http://my.barackobama.com/...
Or send a care package to an American in uniform:
http://my.barackobama.com/...
Thank you for all that you do and have a very happy holiday season,
Michelle
Those of you who are also my Facebook friends may have seen my status update yesterday indicating that I and my family were pursing an "alternative" Christmas this year. We've been moving away from giving gifts for a few years, frankly. I don't have small children or even children at home, and it just seemed ridiculous to do the "mall walk of death" to try to find something just for the sake of buying it. So we've been off gifts and just spending time together for three Christmases now.
But this year, I had a little moment when I was doing regular shopping. I was in the PetsMart getting cat food and kitty litter. Our PetsMarts (all PetsMarts, I assume) have a pet adoption area. They seem to reach out to different local rescue organizations. So for example, the Loudoun County PetsMart has HART - Homeless Animal Rescue Team as its rescue organization. The Fairfax PetsMart has Fancy Cats. My local PetsMart, which is relatively new, has Lost Dog & Cat Rescue as their organization. There are always cats in the built-in display/cages - and once a week, Lost Dog & Cat Rescue brings in their adoptable dogs. They always have one or two dogs wearing a kind of doggy-apron for people to give a donation.
I'm in our PetsMart a lot (I have four cats), and I've gotten to know the LD&CR folks. One of the ladies I speak to regularly shared with me that they are desperately hurting for funds. On the fortunate side, they have plenty of people willing to give foster care to animals awaiting permanent homes. But on the other, they aren't getting enough donations to get those animals both the basic and specialized medical care they need (despite the fact that their vets do everything simply for the cost of the stuff they use to do it).
Like everyone else here (and anywhere where they pay even a little attention), I know that charitable donations are down across-the-board. So many people are barely making it - there just isn't enough left over to make a donation.
So this Christmas, I decided I would make donations as gifts on behalf of my family and friends.
I made a donation in my parents' name to Lost Dog & Cat Rescue, and put together a one-page sheet that included the organization's logo and an idea of how the donation would benefit the organization. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and my parents are big animal rescue and animal rights advocates, so the donation seemed really appropriate.
On behalf of my step- daughter-in-law and her husband, I made a donation to So Others Might Eat (SOME). They help to feed the poor and homeless in Washington, DC. For five close friends of mine, I made a donation in each of their names to Habitat for Humanity. I made an e-card to let them know about the donation, and explained that so many people are losing their homes that I felt it was important to support positive organizations. I also really wanted them to kind of think about their individual good fortune and heighten their awareness generally.
For my husband, I made a donation to Tipitina's Foundation. I first started supporting them right after Katrina. My husband and I are both musicians, and Tipitina's Foundation was working hard to help NOLA-area musicians who had lost the tools of their living - instruments and equipment - by reaching out to the nationwide community of musicians to ask them to donate working instruments. Today, Tipitina's Foundation has several worthy programs:
- Tipitina's Music Office Co-Op, a statewide network of workforce development and job skills training centers for musicians, filmmakers and other media workers.
- Instruments A' Comin', an annual band instrument fundraiser that has provided more than 1.8 million dollars worth of new, high-quality musical instruments to Louisiana public and charter schools.
- Tipitina's Internship Program, which teaches high school-age musicians all aspects of the music industry
- Sunday Music Workshops in which students of all ages play and learn from some of the region's best musicians
One of the unmentioned victims of Katrina is the once-rich NOLA music scene. Only through the work of organizations like Tipitina's will NOLA avoid losing an entire generation of creativity and music.
I have to say - this has been the BEST Christmas for me. I thought about each person on whose behalf I would make a donation and thought what might be meaningful to them and what they might appreciate. Each organization I chose meant something to me and to my "recipient", the person in whose name the gift was given. I do believe it also had the side benefit of maybe opening some awareness and, hopefully, help encourage a consistent culture of giving.
So it was really great to get Michelle Obama's email, encouraging all of us to do what we can for others during these tough times. For one thing, it makes a difference - and for another, those of us who can should strive to give just a little extra.
Happy Holidays, everyone!