UN - Happy Holidays!!
Ew! Lori, why would you title your blog’ “Unhappy Holidays”? Is that a weird typo? What’s wrong with you, woman?
Nope, that was intentional folks. This is an important message - but at least I waited to send it until you’d all eaten your cookies and opened your presents. Right? At least you got to chime in the New Year and make those resolutions you’ve already forgotten (tee hee). At least I had the holiday spirit to do THAT!
And as if unhappy holidays weren’t enough of a bummer, many of our kiddos are facing a pretty bleak New Year too. I’m not saying this to be buzzkill Barbie. I’m saying it because it’s true. Because, on the regular, our team is meeting with young people across Arizona whose lives are in disarray, and despite their parents’ best efforts, things are just HARD -- like, ALL THE TIME! These kids are facing stressors that most ADULTS couldn’t manage - and they still show up at school. They still forge through the day. They still - well - keep on keepin’ on.
It’s pretty heroic.
It’s such an honor to watch these young people using their survival skills (which usually get them in some type of trouble) and help them modulate those skills a bit and turn them into coping skills - which then become thriving skills - and before you know it, they FIRE us - and say they don’t need our help anymore.
And they don’t.
They don’t need us.
And we dance around and cheer and rejoice that we were FIRED!! Yee haw! They have outgrown us. And then we pick up the list of kiddos waiting for assistance and start with a new person. A new heroic person. And we work as hard as we can to get them to the place where they fire us! And then - you know - rinse and repeat.
So my best hope is that you enjoyed all of the great holiday stuff - and that enjoyed you’ll all of the great new year stuff - and that you’ll also remember some people don’t have any of the great stuff right now. Or even the good stuff. Or even maybe the mediocre stuff.
And also, know that there is a super easy way that you can help them if you live in Arizona. You can help them by doing almost nothing. If you live in Arizona you can give a donation that you get TOTALLY back. Seriously - you get all of the money BACK. You can give twenty dollars and get that all back in your taxes. If you file singly you can give up to $400 and GET IT ALL BACK. If you file married you can give up to $800 and GET IT ALL BACK in your taxes. No joke. Just choose a Qualifying Charitable Organization and make that donation.
Obviously Everybody Matters in on the list of options to support but there are a lot of others - so if you don’t give to us PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - GIVE to SOMEONE - and now, get out there and have a terrific everything!
Show up with purpose and leave feeling rewarded. By the end of the Everybody Matters AZ internship, you will feel entirely confident to enter the field. Sign up today to start your internship!
Be a part of Everybody Matters by designating your Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization tax credit donation (Remember, you get this donation back dollar for dollar in your AZ taxes) Donate Now by Clicking Here
