The Importance of Being Charitable

My beautiful mummy was such a kind, caring woman, who loved to help others and got great pleasure out of making them happy.
This is an attribute that I observed many times over the years and admired greatly.
For example, during a family holiday to the stunning island of Grenada, my mum got chatting to the owner of our hotel and learnt how he was an ambassador for the local children's orphanage.
My mum was a teacher and adored children, so the very next day we were on a bus to go and visit. I was probably about 14 at the time, but I remember feeling so humbled by the experience. The home was small, and sweltering hot, but the children were in such good spirits and so polite.
We asked one little boy if he could have anything, what would he like? He simply answered 'a ball'. That was the only thing.

We instantly felt a connection and my mum wanted to help out when we returned home.
However, just after we arrived back in the UK, a devastating hurricane had hit the island and the orphanage was badly damaged. It was almost like it was meant to be, as now we could really help with the re-build.

This experience of seeing first hand how thankful they were, really resonated with me, and ever since I have appreciated the power of charity and helping others.

Years later, during my mum's illness, we were presented with lots of charities and organisations who were around to help support us. Some we took up on their offer, others we thankfully didn't need, but suddenly we were the people needing help. We were the children in Grenada.
I have been on both the giving and receiving end, and now appreciate on a different level how important it is.

Next week I am starting a course of bereavement counselling, which is offered for free by my local hospice, who helped care for my mum in her last few days with us.
Now, anyone that knows me will know that I usually struggle to express my feelings and have the tendency to keep things bottled up. So going to counselling sessions is a massive step for me, but some things are too big to battle on our own.

However without these volunteer counsellors, who give up their free time to help people like myself, I could be in a darker place for longer than I need to be.

We all live extremely busy lives and have our own responsibilities, but if you have ever considered giving up some of your spare time to offer your services, or donate some spare change, then I urge you to go ahead. It is so needed and so thoroughly appreciated.
We all think it will never be us, but unfortunately you never know, and it could be you or a loved one who needs the support one day.

I am very thankful for lots of people who supported my mummy and I, and I will be writing a post soon on some ways that I too plan to give back and the charities I am involved with.