By Jim Roberts
founder/CEO, Family Care Network, Inc.
Deservedly so, the Central Coast has been called the “happiest” and “friendliest” place in America; and I’d like to add “Most Generous” to this esteemed list.
The Family Care Network has been privileged to serve the Central Coast now for over 27 years. Over that span of time, I have always been so impressed by the tremendous community involvement and support we have received.
For those of you not familiar with the Family Care Network, we provide an array of 19 programs serving children, youth and families in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
Our services range from therapeutic foster care and adoption programs, to programs for transitional age foster or former foster youth, to a variety of children’s mental health programs including school-based services.
At any given time, we are serving from 400-500 clients, totaling around 1,500 to 1,700 per year. Every year we’re faced with a major challenge to provide Christmas presents to a large number of children and families, and every year we are incredibly supported by the Central Coast community. This Holiday Season was another great testament to our giving community and an example of a healthy community.
In 2014, the Family Care Network was tasked with providing gifts to about 400 individuals. We launched our “Sponsor a Child” outreach effort, and the community’s response was overwhelming.
Nearly 1,000 items were donated to meet the individual wishes submitted by our children, youth and families. We estimate that the total value of these contributions exceed $40,000. Our community’s generosity was staggering.
For example, one young musician working at a local tech firm picked a sponsor card of a teen who wanted to learn to play the guitar. This gentleman went above and beyond in making this wish come true, gifting the teen with a high-quality instrument in a hard case and all of the accessories you could imagine.
A community group raised more than was needed to cover a batch of sponsor cards they had picked, so they donated an extra $1,000 to FCNI to be used as needed. And 26 children or youth received beautiful, brand-new bicycles and helmets.
Forty percent of wishes were sponsored by 13 businesses and organizations, with 10 churches sponsoring another 40%. And the remaining 20% of wishes were sponsored by 200 individuals; all supporting our effort to make a lot of kids, teens and families very happy. Feedback from the gift recipients has been equally as powerful. In just the few days since the gifts were delivered, we received hundreds of “Thank you’s,” positive comments and expressions of gratitude.
Sir Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” In an era and culture so obsessed with “getting,” it is quite refreshing to witness abundant, heartfelt generosity.
I like to call this the “Obsession of Giving,” a lifestyle driven by giving and not receiving. Best selling author and behavioral science academic, Dr. Steve Maraboli, said it well, “Don’t wait for other people to be loving, giving, compassionate, grateful, forgiving, generous or friendly, lead the way!” Become immersed in giving and you will quench your thirst for wanting.
The degree of giving we experienced this season is truly a sign of a life-producing community. There will never be a lack of need within the communities we reside, nor will you or I be able to meet the depth and breadth of the needs surrounding us. But we can each do our part.
Some have greater means, some have greater time, but we all have unlimited opportunity. Giving is a discipline. It takes commitment, effort and consistency. It’s like becoming a good tennis player, musician or gardener; the more you do it, the more you learn it, the better you get at it.
Not everyone is gifted as a giver like Mother Theresa, able to serve in the slums of India or impoverished villages in Africa. But everyone has some ability to lighten another person’s burden.
Many, many thanks to the hundreds of individuals and groups who helped lighten the burden of many this Christmas, bringing joy and happiness to hundreds of children, youth and families through the Family Care Network.
The Central Coast has been recognized for its amazing quality of life, and I believe one of the reasons is because we are a community of givers!
