Penny's Passion: Thinking Out Loud Thursday - December 15, 2016

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Thinking Out Loud Thursday - December 15, 2016

Oh my goodness -- we are 9 days away from Christmas and I am no where near ready!  What about you?  Are you ready?  I'm glad you took a second to pop in to Thinking Out Loud Thursday with me and Vanessa from X-tremely V!

I'm not panicking yet.  I haven't missed any deadlines or activities.  As a matter of fact, this week has been chock-full of fabulous parties, lunches and and activities.  Yesterday I did one of my favorite things of the holiday season -- I rang bells for the Salvation Army!  That's what I'm thinking out loud about today!

The company I work for offers a volunteer opportunity to ring for an hour at a designated site.  We rang at a Schnuck's grocery store near our office.  The temperatures were freezing yesterday so a special shout out to Schnuck's for letting us move our kettle inside to the vestibule of their store and away from the bitter cold and wind.

Westfall Plaza

The particular Schnuck's store we rang at is located in Ferguson, Missouri.  Yes, the same Ferguson you might have heard about on the news a few years ago associated with the riots over the Michael Brown case.  I'm here to say that the Ferguson we encountered was nothing like the scenes we witnessed on TV.  The people were friendly and generous.  Some told stories of how the Salvation army had helped their families and they were giving back as a way of saying thank you.  More than once tears puddled in my eyes as someone shared their story with us as they folded their dollars and put them in the red kettle.


The Salvation Army helped approximately 30 million people last year with basic necessities of life - food, shelter, and warmth.  In this season of hustle and bustle, please remember those less fortunate.  And please remember to smile at the bell ringers!  If you would like to make an online donation to the Salvation Army, we can do so HERE.

So that's what I'm thinking out loud about today.  What's on your mind?  Link up and tell us all about it!


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3 comments:

  1. Let's see...I still need to buy 3 presents, wrap ALL presents, go to the brewery for the lights and to st. charles main street for their festivities. I have zero time to do all that so I'm starting to panic a bit. Kudos to you for not panicing!

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  2. Man the time is flying and the list of things to do is getting longer! :) Merry Christmas friend, I would have donated all the money in my wallet for you and your friend, you guys are too cute.

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  3. What a great way to donate your time. You're such a thoughtful person! I have seen quite a few folks out ringing their bells for the Salvation Army. Thank you for the reminder to wave and say hello :) The temperatures drop so low - they all must be so cold doing that for hours at a time!

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