empowerment

One of the great things about the Christmas Store is that it empowered parents to choose gifts for their own children. To offer some payment for them. To put their own tags on the gifts and place them under their Christmas trees for their family.

Orchard Hill friends gave gifts, and parents received the gifts. Parents gave cash, and Orchard Hill volunteers received the payment. The value in that exchange goes far beyond the actual dollar amount of cash given. Because everyone was a participant, a stronger sense of dignity and community was experienced, and there was a sense of capacity-building and mutuality in the exchange.

Now, can the Christmas Store of the future work toward the next two levels of empowerment?

1. Could more friends from the community be serving as planners and volunteers at the Christmas Store and the Christmas Craft Fair? We talk of raising up indigenous leaders. About the community having the solutions to their problems. About this CCDA philosophy:

Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what they know
Build on what they have:
But of the best leaders, when their task is done
The people will remark "We have done it ourselves."

If this is to be a value for us, then the Christmas Store and Craft Fair will increasingly involve the community we served. That would be empowerment at a next level, and we need to work toward such development as we build relationships.

2. The other level of empowerment that I've been considering is to coach and empower other city partnerships to consider a similar type of Christmas Store model. I heard from a support worker at another school who loved the Christmas Store idea for their schools' families who are in need. What if other partners in education...churches, businesses, etc... would consider hosting a Christmas Store in their partner schools? That would be just one more level of empowerment and development across the broader community.