Pay it Forward – A Word on Veterans
A Word on Veterans

Pay it Forward

The words, “The Common Good,” permeates everything in the University of St Thomas universe. However, these are not just words. I see them come into being in our students on a daily basis. It is something to behold. One such moment consistently comes to mind when I think about the common good and giving to others.

Every November we begin collecting donations for our annual Care Package drive; we send Care Packages to our students deployed overseas. (It’s not just our own military who benefit from these packages, but it becomes an international event as well. Other countries are not always as generous as we are here in the United States, so when a service member receives a care package, they share their wares with other countries. This is generosity and a bit of comfort on an international scale.) The generosity of our university for this event is overwhelming. But it goes further than that.

We had a student who deployed and they received one of our care packages for Christmas. The package was such that there was enough for them to share with their unit.  Every time someone would enter the office, that person could reach in and grab candy, crackers, whatever. Our student was able to share during the holiday season so that others could have a small bit of comfort. Yet it goes a little further than that.

This particular student gathered some of what they had, made additional care packages while over there, and then sent those packages to other service members in the area who did not receive anything at all for Christmas.

The generosity kept going –  Tommies helping Tommies helping others – giving service to others – caring for someone else and wanting them to feel compassion. If this is not a small step of service towards “The Common Good” I do not know what is?

 

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