How do you show thankfulness? Through giving back and gratitude, say community leaders
Thanksgiving is upon us. But what does thankfulness really mean?
For Darin Preis, director of Central Missouri Community Action, thankfulness is connected to giving back.
"What we see from the people we serve is they are incredibly thankful, and they show that by helping their neighbors, their friends and their families," Preis said.
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Neighbor-to-neighbor help is given through time or financially, he said, such as babysitting while a parent works an overnight shift.
"That is how people really show their thankfulness is by sharing their own time and talents," Preis said.
Family success coaching
One way in which CMCA clients are given the tools to turn around and then help their neighbor is through its family success coaches, Preis said.
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CMCA on its website features the story of Stefani, a client helped in Osage County by Tracy Pistel, a family success coach with the nonprofit.
Stefani had no home, no job and no real way to care for her family. So Pistel connected Stefani to Osage Caring Projects. They were able to help Stefani pay the first month's rent and deposit on a new apartment.
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Pistel also helped Stefani apply for CMCA's SkillUP program, which is for job training and connecting participants to employers.
CMCA also operates Head Start programs, and Stefani's daughter was enrolled.
Giving time and money
In Preis' experience, sometimes those with the lowest incomes are those who give the most back, either through their time or financially, he said.
For some, a $100 donation may be a drop in the bucket, but that's a big deal to a low-income family, Preis said, noting "sometimes (low-income) people are the most generous people that I know, because they are always willing to step in and help."
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This is backed up by research.
The Philanthropy Roundtable in its almanac notes that — based on percentage of income — low-income individuals and high-income earners typically give the most to charitable organizations.
"The lower-income population surprises by giving more than the middle (class) — and in some measures even more than the top," according to the Philanthropy Roundtable, noting the caveat that this conclusion is based on percentage of income and not total dollars given.
A 2004 study from Washington University in St. Louis looked at civic engagement of low-income individuals and families. It found civic engagement often centered around church-related volunteer opportunities. Eighty-four people were interviewed for the qualitative study.
Another way to show thankfulness
For the Rev. Carol McEntyre of First Baptist Church in Columbia, thankfulness is shown via gratitude.
"Gratitude is the realization we are part of something bigger than ourselves; this beautiful world God created and all the people we are blessed to be in relationship with," McEntyre wrote in a recent email to the Tribune.
Gratitude and thankfulness can come naturally and unexpectedly, but it often is hard to be thankful and easier to focus on negatives, McEntyre added.
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She does an exercise with both her family and congregation.
"We have a regular practice of gratitude or thanksgiving," she wrote about the tradition. "We go around the table and name three good things that happened in our day and give thanks.
"... We have been doing this as a family for many years, and it has helped all of us to notice and be grateful for all the good things in our lives."
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Here is what Columbia community leaders are saying about thankfulness
