When asked this question personally, “What are you grateful for?,” I would usually gladly answer:

• My faith in a good God
• My Family
• My Home
• The awesome people in my life
• That I live in the great state of NC
• Many other similar blessings in my life

As a business owner when asked “What are you grateful for?,” I would normally answer my heartfelt thanks for:

• the blessing and privilege to be a business owner
• The awesome team members I am honored to work with
• the great clients we enjoy serving as their trusted HR partner
• the new office space we moved into this year

However, this upcoming holiday season, I’ve come to realize that I am grateful for things that in the past I’ve always taken for granted. Mundane, everyday (but oh so important) things like:

• underwear
• socks
• several changes of clothes
• a pair of shoes
• a warm coat for when the temperature drops

I have been very fortunate that the items listed above were always available to me. I never went to school without underwear on; I never wore the same clothes more than once a week or so; I never left the house for school without shoes on; and I never had to stand at the bus stop in the winter shivering because I didn’t own a coat.

The Needs in Front of Me

I recently became aware that thousands of children in our local school systems don’t have underwear or socks for daily wear, and many have only one pair of pants and one shirt that they wear every single day of the week. And a warm winter coat? They certainly don’t have that either.

With a new awareness regarding these needs in our community, I wanted to do something about it. Perhaps you too might like to know how you can help.

Note in the Pocket

To be sure, there are many wonderful organizations in the Triangle area working to meet the needs of children, and one in particular that I support is Note In The Pocket located in Raleigh.

Note in the Pocket works with social workers in the Wake County Public School System to fulfill the Note in the Pocket mission of “Clothing Children With Dignity and Love.” They provide opportunities for the community to join them in accomplishing this mission by:

• donating new and gently used clothing
• volunteering time to sort and fold donated items
• participate in and/or be a sponsor in their 5K Socks-and-Undies Run
• donate supplies to help sort and store clothing
• contribute money to buy new clothing and shoes:
  • $14 buys a pair of shoes
  • $25 buys a new warm coat
  • $140 buys a season’s worth of clothing for one child

And if you’ll visit Note In The Pocket on their website, you’ll learn all the ways you can provide helpful assistance to this nonprofit organization.

With Thanksgiving

As business leaders in our communities and in our companies, we are called to build for the greater good not only for the benefit of our employees, partners, clients, vendors and ourselves, but also for those in our communities that are less fortunate than us. Together, let’s count our blessings this holiday season and let’s be a blessing to those who could benefit greatly from our support.

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To discuss ways your company can get involved in giving back this holiday season, don’t hesitate to contact Close HR Connections. We’d love to help.