In our humble opinion, giving is the only true living! We were created to give of ourselves and to invest in the lives of others. What have you been entrusted with to do more of what matters? The answer, so much more than just money!

With the season of giving upon us, allow us to share 4 short inspiring vignettes from our many valued friends and clients. Our hearts are warmed when we see the generosity of others, and it often serves as inspiration and motivation for us to consider what we could be doing to help others as well.

We share these short stories with this in mind, and we encourage you to consider giving more than just Christmas presents this holiday season.

The Colton Groome Community Support Fund, Asheville, NC: A local family business that originates from Asheville and has been part of the community their whole life. For many years, they have been searching for meaningful ways to impact their community. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene ravaging their community, taking away so many lives and destroying so many properties, the Groome family sprung into action and shared the needs and opportunities to serve with others. Our family and so many more were able to contribute donations as the Groomes organized all sorts of relief and personal care for their community in a devastating time of need. Anyone with a big heart and lots of friends can do miracles!

The Valmark Global Gift Fund, Rwanda: A 60-year-old, second-generation family business had a vision to build a school in Rwanda. It was an ambitious vision for sure. They shared the idea with their many friends and went after it. Many trips and more than a million dollars later, there is a state-of-the-art school impacting children and families in amazing ways through this incredible school, Kivu Hills Academy in Boneza.

The Shamrock Fund/Santa Shop, Attleboro, MA: Bishop Feehan High School’s teachers, administrators, parents and students, combined their efforts to collect gifts from those who have the means to donate and then distributed those gifts to families in need. Seeing through our own children, friends and fellow parents and Feehan families, the joy we were able to bring to so many, and the hundreds of gifts we gave away, was truly a miracle. While this may seem small to other acts of generosity, the annual Santa Shop brings so much hope to those who receive and so much purpose to those who give. Small acts of generosity can truly impact in ways you couldn’t imagine.

The Lightshine Fund/San Miguel School, Providence, RI: Our very own Lightshine Fund allows us to support, along with many other families, sponsoring and mentoring young men in Providence, grades 5 through 8. These young men come from traumatic circumstances in one form or another, they lack financial stability and face many other difficulties. With the Lightshine Fund’s help, they learn the importance of faith, family, community, and leadership through the school. Seeing the stories of these kids who become impactful men in their families, communities and marketplaces, is truly a joy to be a part of. We care deeply about the family and the broken nature of young men in the inner city and how this puts urban families at greater risk. We feel and see firsthand that we are, in our own small way, helping these families and these great young guys to break the chains of failed fatherhood and irresponsible manhood.