Have any of you ever seen that show, Secret Millionaire? The show basically documents a millionaires experience where they go undercover in a city that has high poverty and crime and they volunteer at organizations. In the end, they donate however much of their own personal money to the organization. My friend, Jessica, told me about this show last week and I was pretty obsessed with watching it. Every show puts you on the brink of tears because even though in the end these organizations are getting thousands and thousands of dollars from essentially a stranger, it’s amazing to see how much people have sacrificed in their own lives to just help other people.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going to Give Kids the World, a local non-profit organization in Orlando, that exists only to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. They bring their entire family to Central Florida, for free, and give them the experience of a lifetime with trips to the attractions, a wonderful home to stay in for, and lots of activities around the grounds, including ice cream for breakfast, movies at the pool, and even pirate vs. princess dinners. They have helped over 115,000 children get their wish and the organization is truly truly amazing. On a weekly basis they have about 7,000 volunteers help them make these memorable experiences happen for these children and family.

Even though I didn’t get to work directly with any kids, it was just amazing to walk around and see everything that they have built, from the ground up, to help other people.

When I went, we split up in two groups – one was to do some hard manual labor outside and one was to set up Christmas for the kids in their theatre. (They set up Christmas every week for the kids.) Of course, I ended up in the manual labor group where we took up juniper bushes and their roots and then built a drainage ditch. Talk about sweating!

Between watching Secret Millionaire and the volunteer work I had the pleasure of doing a few weeks ago, it just makes me realized how much more we can give and do for people less fortunate. Even if it’s only a few hours.

How do you give back?

*To learn more about Give Kids the World, visit http://www.gktw.org/

December 7 – Community Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)

Community played a HUGE role for me in 2010. I realized early on that the only way to grow your network was to become involved online and offline. I established a strong community on Twitter with local people but mainly with people in other states. I have met some really amazing people who have helped me grow throughout the year – whether it was discussing design, development, writing, or even just sports talk, I found people to connect with, learn from, and help.

Although online communities are truly fantastic, I was really able to build my local community here in Orlando too. I’m involved with a few organizations (Florida Drupal, Florida Creatives, LadyBallers, Relay for Life Downtown Orlando, and Yelp) and I have been absolutely amazed by the connections I’ve gained over this year. I am truly surrounded by wonderful, smart, and talented people. So, it is definitely important for me to stay involved locally and for 2011 and I really want to grow with these communities further. I want to continue to be involved and establish stronger relationships with those I’ve already met but also spread the word about these great locals.

“Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

*Photo Credit