By Siobhan Fitzmaurice
Make a Gift From The Heart to Foodbank Lakeside in honor of someone special to you — to celebrate a holiday, birthday, wedding or any special occasion — or in memory of a loved one. Honor or memorial gifts to Foodbank Lakeside puts food on the tables of our neediest Lakeside neighbors, while saying “I Love You”, “Thank You” or “I’m Thinking of You” — or anything you want to say.
Here is just one example: Clara, a ninth grader, and her family live very comfortably in Minnesota. Recognizing that Clara enjoyed an abundant life, her grandparents and lakeside residents, Glorine (co-founder of Foodbank Lakeside and Larry Barnhardt), decided to gift $250 US to Foodbank Lakeside in honor of Clara’s family for Christmas. Here is Clara’s reaction.
“This was quite the humbling gift because all too often the true meaning of Christmas gets lost in selfish materialistic desires. Receiving a gift like this gives me hope and gives others hope during a time when they need it.”
For Clara, this was a meaningful experience and a gift she will never forget. For one of our neediest Mexican Lakeside families, $250 US provides basic food essentials for one year! Foodbank Lakeside distributes monthly despensas (pantry items) containing groceries such as rice, beans, oats, eggs, milk, soap and toilet paper.
Clara continues, “My family has been blessed with all the comforts of life. It hurts my heart that so many people are struggling just to feed their families, especially in the holiday season. Giving your time and/or money to people in need is such a great thing to do not only for the people in need, but for yourself too. Helping people makes my heart feel full and my mind feel peace, knowing that at least I did my small part to improve someone’s life.”
Clara’s heartfelt comments beautifully articulate one of the issues that is important to her generation, Gen Z (those born after 1995). “Gen Z is twice as likely as any other generation to care more about issues of equality” (1).
Make a Gift From The Heart to Foodbank Lakeside in honor of someone special to you, like a Gen Z grandchild. It’s a gift they will truly appreciate and never forget!
- Levine, B. (2019, May 30). Study: Gen Z cares about issues and is skeptical of brands. MarketingDive. https://www.marketingdive.com/news/study-gen-z-cares-about-issues-and-is-skeptical-of-brands/555782