As we head into the Holiday Season and New Year our thoughts, priorities and actions can find us revolving around family activities and plans including  our children, parents and even grandparents or close friends. The shopping list for the kids, extra trips to the schools for Christmas plays and those holiday meals that we worry ours selves to death for hours on end with much  preparation only to find ourselves celebrating joyously after the family and friends leave, not at their departure, but however; at the chance just to sit down and relax. Oh, how I love this time of year.

The next week after the holidays we may find ourselves making those New Year’s resolutions with our husbands and wives (or significant others) to maybe lose a pound or two, clean the attic or garage, now that we have all those lights and decorations down.  This time of year we spend time with “Family” and our actions with the family encompasses a time to converse and get caught up on every family member’s lives and the changes that they have experienced since the year before.

The Holidays bring out the best in everyone and Families embrace the concept of Generosity. The fact is not every family is afforded the blessings and opportunities that we have been afforded growing up in this wonderful country, unfortunately for many reasons families, fathers, mothers and  then children suffer from fractures and separations not  too their physical bodies but through the lack of functioning and being afforded the blessings of a safe quite home refuge, a father who participates with his family at home and stays home or a mother who is dependant on controlled substances, this is how the family is fractured.

The Human Services day brought awareness to my classmates and me that not every family is the same and even though we already had know this fact I believe we may not have known to what degree each family is different and not just speaking of the loss of a mother or father in the family circle, but different in the respect for children to just feel safe in their own home every night. The 9-1-1 tape brought tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat to know how that girl named Lisa was hurting. This is where the  “Human Services” gets put into effect and through organizations like Kids House, Community Based Care of Seminole, The Grove Counseling Center and Michele Lee Puppets and the way children can identify and communicate difficulties through the puppets perspective lives were changed. The words to describe these organizations and the people who labor inside them is “generosity.” The nice part of this is we all have generosity inside of us waiting to come out and make a difference.

Friday we learned that our county, Seminole County, has people in need and who need help for one reason or another. I experienced this first hand when Dominic, Lynn and I served a meal to sweet Italian widow who more than anything wanted a friend to speak to, if just for a few moments. Dominic and I move some small items around her apartment as Lynn conversed with her about her family and old restaurant. Meals on Wheels is a wonderful organization; did not only delivers meals, but delivers a friendship on a daily basis, the meal is just the spark that started the friendship.

 This is how we all as classmates can make a difference and it starts with what we learned and experienced within our functional family values growing up in an environment that was peaceful and balanced. The children that attend the Boys Town of Central Florida in Oviedo are now taking the first step in being apart of a traditional family with a Mom & Dad and sisters and course and responsibilities. The joy on my classmates faces were bright that Friday afternoon when we saw first hand each young lady speak from the Boys Town facility and share with us their goals, meal time organization skills and yes who is responsible for   doing the dishes, yuk! It was inspiring to see how the schedules were posted for meals, and clean up chores, I even incorporated a few of those “chore list” for my 18 year old teenage daughter.

The ties that bind us will be the friendships we during this leadership class, with out the friendships and goals of this class we would just be a club without direction. I happy to be apart of Leadership Seminole and I am even more proud of Class #19’s accomplishments thus far. Today I learned even more what it takes to help people in need in Seminole County. The help must come from each one of us in the form of  “Generosity” . It’s not enough to believe that these fine organizations are always going to be there or the need is complete, because in reality the needs never stop. It takes us to get off the sideline and contribute one way or another. The needs for human services start with the community, our community, Seminole County and I am  excited to start my small part of  “giving back” to Seminole County with Leadership Seminole, keep at it Class #19 and Happy HolidaysJ