One of the roles I cherish in my work at Foster Group is being part of our Charitable Giving Team. Each year, our group meets regularly to give away money and promote generosity. What fun!

Last fall, the team challenged each Foster Group employee to give away a $50 bill … then share their story. And the stories came in – a $50 tip to an unsuspecting waitress at Red Lobster, buying pizza for a homeless man in Las Vegas (and watching him share the pizza with a friend!), buying a Hy-Vee gift card for an expectant, out-of-work family. Tipping a friendly Target employee, surprising a clerk at a convenience store, helping a single mom of seven, … well, you get the picture. It has been an inspiring time.

Then I received the following email from a client, who decided to pass on an unexpected gift:

“… To my delight it was a card for $100!! (We) looked at each other and thought – someone else needs this much more than we do.  

Well, there is a young, single mom employed by Home Health Care who is helping us with mom every morning and we just thought she would be perfect!!  I wrote a note along with the card thanking her for blessing mom with such loving care and she was so touched!!!  (I was this young lady’s kindergarten teacher so it even makes it more special!)

I know this is very simple and small, but the reason I am sharing this with you is so that you can see your generosity truly does grow as we all share with others!”

How about you? Will you add to this story? Perhaps you buy a $50 gift card, then simply look for an opportunity to give it away. It’s a wonderful, freeing experience! I’d sure love to hear about it – email me about it at joeb@fostergrp.com.

P.S. If you want to read more stories like this, check out www.ilikegiving.com/stories !