52 Weeks of Charity

Sometimes participating in a charity can be super simple – like enjoying a charity dinner… which is what my husband and I decided to do for Thanksgiving. For us, it was an easy choice. Thanksgiving is typically just the two of us. Our tradition is to take the train into NYC, look at the holiday window displays, do a little holiday shopping at Bryant Park’s Winter Village, then have Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant (Blue Fin on Times Square has been our go-to). It’s a really fun tradition – the city is full of lights, energy and happiness, bright decorations and holiday music. Everyone is friendly and you’re surrounded by the excitement of tourists.

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During my visit to Covenant House NYC I met and heard many heartbreaking stories of the young adults who had come to live there and saw first-hand the hope and courage these youth developed with the support of the organization. I heard stories of physical and sexual abuse, of drug addicted parents who passed off their children to strangers for care, of families who disowned teens who came out as LGBTQ. I listened to experiences of the violence of living on the streets in NYC – being ridiculed, kicked, spit upon, ignored. Of being hungry because there was no food for days. Of living in the same clothes for weeks and having access to a shower at a shelter once a month. These were stories of defeat and violence and depression. Of the turn towards drugs and alcohol just to numb the pain. Of lost IDs and the impossibility of forging a life. Read more