St. Cloud Florida Stake Blog

My nine-year-old daughter was adamant: she did not want to attend the birthday party with her younger siblings. She wanted to go to the blood drive with her dad. 

It sounds odd, until you realize that it wasn’t the blood drive itself that she was drawn to (and no, OneBlood has not lowered its donation age!). It was the JustServe projects that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were offering alongside the blood drive. She remembered that last year while adults were rolling up their sleeves, she had been able to make ornaments and cards for veterans, projects that her crafty side loved and that helped her feel that she, too, was making a difference.

This year was no different. While donors stepped inside the big red buses parked right outside the church building, others were welcomed inside for a chance to volunteer with other community needs. The projects were organized by Brittany Pratt, the JustServe specialist for the St. Cloud Florida Stake in Osceola County. “While people were donating blood, kids and adults helped make blankets for children in foster care and nativities for local nursing homes,” Brittany said. “It was the perfect start of the Christmas season!” 

I could not agree more. What particularly struck me was the opportunity it gave families to serve together. I saw a friend carefully cutting fabric for a blanket, her children surrounding her and assisting as they could. I asked where her husband was, assuming (and impressed) that she had come by herself. “Oh, he’s donating blood right now,” she replied. “Hopefully I’ll get to donate after that.”

I reflected that the JustServe projects, just by being there, made even more blood donations possible. It answered a quandary I often find myself in as a mother of young children—how can I even provide meaningful service when I they are so little? And if I can’t serve, how can I ever teach them that service gives meaning to our lives? 

When Jesus saw the widow casting in her two mites (which amounted to six minutes’ worth of the average daily wage for that time), He praised her because “she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living” (Mark 12:44). It’s never about what we give, but how we give. We don’t have the be the right age and health of a blood donor to give meaningfully. We just have to give our all. After donating, my husband came home with a thank-you gift from OneBlood, a blanket. Printed on the blanket were these words: “Give Life to the Fullest.” What a great reminder, for this Christmas season and always. No matter what our “fullest” is, giving it wholeheartedly is what brings us the most joy.