April 12, 2019 | Impact
For the fifth year in a row, LifeGuide’s “Share the Blessing” campaign was a great success! We want to thank all those who partnered with us to bless our local community in this unique way. Over the next five weeks, we will be sharing the touching stories from this year’s campaign. We were inspired and amazed by this year’s stories, and we think you will be too!
As a reminder, during this past Christmas season, we sent $75 to a number of randomly selected clients to personally share with an individual or family in need of an unexpected blessing.
Please find below the third selection of stories.
“Abigail” is my husband’s youngest sister in a family of twelve. Abigail is 57 years old and raised two daughters alone. In 2011 she was in an auto accident and had a severely injured leg and foot causing difficulty at her [on her feet] job at the Sears/K Mart distribution center. She has been employed there for 17 years and the Sunday we had signed a Christmas card with the $75 enclosed, she announced at church that all employees were informed Friday that the company was going bankrupt and they would no longer have employment as of April 2019. She was devastated not only with job loss but that of an excellent insurance through these years. She grieves the loss of not being with her work friends and the company that hired her three days after the new facility opened in the area. Abigail has struggled to support herself and her now grown daughters almost all her life, but she would do for others and share as she could. Our niece, Hannah, died of a brain tumor at age of 19; when Hannah had trouble sleeping, Aunt Abigail would take her to Wal-Mart where Hannah would shop and fill her cart full of gifts/books/crafts, divide her purchases into gift bags and take them to the children/youth floor at Hershey Med Center to share with other terminally ill friends there. She was known on the children’s wing, because Hannah had numerous surgeries & admittances, being diagnosed with the tumor at the age of 11. After her death, Aunt Abigail developed a ministry called “Hannah’s Hands” following Hannah’s example by filling backpacks and gift bags and giving them to sick children and teens. She has filled 50-100 gifts in the last three years, which go to Hershey Med and Children’s Hospital in DC, since one of our church family members works there. She also has shared with local children, with her fellow employee’s family and friends who are going through hard times by giving them a bag of groceries or coats/clothes that she would purchase at yard sales or the Goodwill Store. Abigail has only been a believer for five years and her witness in sharing and caring has inspired many, including her pastor- brother and wife. She cried when we handed her the “share a blessing” gift and told her that both my husband and I wanted her to have it. Coming at this time of extra stress of losing her job, confirmed to her of God’s faithfulness; He knows her needs and will take care of her even as she has shared so generously to so many around her. Thank you for this opportunity to participate in this wonderful program.
Through Share the Blessing, I was able to help a lady who I knew through work. She used to work in the Subway that was in my office building. She left because she needed a job with more hours. We stayed in touch through Facebook and I was able to see through her posts that she was having a rough time. Both her and her one son have several health issues. The son is having to go to John Hopkins soon for more tests. I think it gave her hope that people care and want to help! She was very grateful and appreciated us thinking of her. It was nice to be able to help someone that we might not have thought about helping before. But because of this Share the Blessing we were on the lookout for someone who needed a little help both in hope and in funds! Thanks so much for this opportunity to help others.
I shared this blessing with a very good friend of mine, “Joy”. We were coworkers at one time. She has been retired for several years. She is a kind and gentle soul. She really has financial needs. It is really a shame. She worked so hard all her life and has very little to show for it. She took care of her mother for years before she passed several years ago. She also has health issues. She has been hospitalized several times this year. This means additional expenses on top of her everyday expenses. She is on many medications and they are costly. I feel that she is someone who really needs a break in life. She gets down at times, but always seems to pull herself up. She is a good and faithful Christian. I pray that she gets some financial relief and that her health stabilizes. I think that her financial problems are piling up. When I gave her this “blessing” she was really surprised and grateful. I just told her to do whatever she wanted with the money. It truly was a “blessing” to her. Thanks for letting me be a part of this.
A 14-year-old girl in my community has a heart for displaced children and children entering foster care. This young girl saw a need at age 8 and began a ministry to provide children entering foster care with basic needs such as pajamas, blankets, stuffed animals, socks, and toiletries, all placed in their own backpack. Sadly, many children enter foster care with no clothing or possessions. Through Share the Blessing, I was able to help Backpacks of Hope continue to provide children entering foster care in Central PA with basic needs that most of us take for granted. Thank you for the privilege of giving, and the blessing of sharing God’s love.
Through Share the Blessing, we were able to help our neighbor lady and her children. This was helpful for her because she is a single mom raising two children, living in a trailer house. It was special to visit them and share a Christmas blessing with her and the children.
Through Share the Blessing, we were able to help “Erin.” She is a young lady in her early 20’s – battling cancer and type-2 diabetes. She has an older car needing repairs and needed to purchase a new phone that would work with her diabetes Apps for monitoring her blood levels. Erin is on a fixed income and she was very surprised to receive this gift to help with her purchasing a new phone. It brought tears to her that someone would think of helping her. I also gave her cash to help toward her purchase. Thank you for including us in this special offering.
We were able to help “Robert and Sharon.” The Blessing was helpful for them because Robert is looking for a job and Sharon has been very sick for a few years. She has heart and kidney problems. She is now on dialysis. I worked with Robert; he was always very helpful when I needed help. Sharon worked part-time for a little for me.
Through Share the Blessing, I was able to help “Mai,” a college student from Vietnam. She could not find a job last semester and therefore was in need. It helps her to meet her expenses, while here in this country. I was so blessed to share this gift with her. Thank you for letting me participate.
All included names have been changed to maintain anonymity.
“Share the Blessing” is not part of LifeGuide Financial Advisors’ advisory services but a campaign where participation and sharing of stories is voluntary. For information about LifeGuide’s advisory services, please refer to our ADV-Disclosure Brochure.