Giving back is good for the soul. I have found focusing on the bigger picture helps to give perspective on our own lives. Through the craziness of life, it is easy to get wrapped up in personal setbacks and losses. Knowing that there is a greater need outside of our own lives helps to calm stresses and leads to happiness in helping others.

One of the most rewarding things that I accomplished this year was organizing XMAS KAOS, a ‘just for fun’ annual Platform Tennis Tournament for the Kingsway Platform Tennis Club.

It was the third year in a row that I had been the principle organizer of this event so I had a good foundation of knowledge to build on. Every year the organizer must select 2 things; 1) a Theme and 2) a Charity to donate 100% of the proceeds to. This year the theme was Star Wars and the Charity was Abuse Hurts. 


Organizing the tournament was definitely not the rewarding part of this experience as it involves many moving parts to keep on top of – a full-time job in the lead up to the event. Of course, it all has to be squeezed into the seemingly non-existent ‘spare time’ that is increasingly rare to find at this chaotic time of year.  

Finding the Reward…

The rewarding part came in the form of the charitable giving that this event allowed us to do. Although we had made decent donations to charitable organizations in the past, this year’s contribution to the Abuse Hurts 13 Days of Christmas campaign was especially rewarding.  I was able to get a closer understanding of just how much good work is done for abuse survivors that live in our communities, need help and are being addressed by Ellen Campbell and her impressive team.  Ellen invited me to be her guest at the Q107 Breakfast with Derringer event on Dec 21 and I got to further see just how far this message has touched people as the extended Q107 campaign had presented a grand total of over $1Million dollars to Abuse Hurts and others were inspired on the spot to donate generous sums of money and goods to the cause.

Getting your Family Involved

Everyone in the family played a part in making this event successful. I had my 12-year-old son along for the experience – the giving spirit of that breakfast and the campaign in general, was something that resonated with him as well.  We even donated Christmas toques and custom Star Wars buttons (that my son designed).

I am proud to have brought my family together to give back and make a bit of a difference at this time of year.

I hope this inspires you to do the same!

Have a happy holiday.

 

Big thanks go to XMAS KAOS contributors and sponsors who helped the Kingsway Platform Tennis Club raise $1700