This past weekend, millions of Christians around the world celebrated Easter. But, aside from chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs, what is Easter really about for people? And more importantly, how do we see the ideals of it throughout the year? For starters, Easter is the holiest day on the Christian calendar, even more than Christmas. The day marks Jesus’ resurrection and the ascension into heaven after his crucifixion.
Sacrifice for Others
For us, one of the characteristics of Easter is sacrifice, as when churches and faith groups do Barefoot Sundays. We know this principle exists for Easter and Christians and also within other faiths and beliefs in traditions such as Judaism, Buddhism, Muslims, and Hindus. The U.S. is a very fortunate country because we allow people of all religions (or non-religions) and traditions to practice their faith if they have one. Moreover, our ideals as a nation also include the notion of shared sacrifice.
As we know, Americans and people worldwide are moving toward the ending of the pandemic. Of course, that’s a wonderful thing, but while the great pause caused a lot of suffering, it also demonstrated moments of the enormous sacrifices families and even strangers made for each other. For example, who could forget, at the start of the pandemic, people’s worry and concern? Still, front-line workers, such as grocery store clerks, delivery people, and of course, first responders showed up to work.
We think of the medical professionals, who only recently started to rest, who put their lives on the line for their patients. As we recall, at times when supplies were short, they reused masks or wore plastic bags for protection. All of these moments were sacrifices people made for others, including strangers. In short, that’s one of the most important answers to the question of what is Easter about in modern times.
Extending Gratitude
Each year, our team likes to give thanks to our partners and others during the holiday season. However, this year, as we come out of an incredible challenge in the pandemic and its repercussions, we want to extend our thanks. It’s important to acknowledge the sacrifices of so many people—often unrecognized. What we’ve been reminded of during Easter, and candidly, each day of this year, is that gratitude goes a long way. We’re grateful for all of our partners who have shared their stories and trust in our social enterprise.
Our shoe drive fundraising brands are all part of the Funds2Orgs Group. Our first and iconic brand is Funds2Orgs, and we also have Shoes With Heart, Sneakers4Funds, and Cash4Shooz. And within those brands, we’ve had the chance to listen to many stories of the sacrifices people make for others. For instance, we’ve gotten to know the LeMay family, who sought us out after doing an adoption puzzle fundraiser. Adoptive families are fantastic because they make such great sacrifices to bring a child into their homes.
Another recent story of sacrifice comes with a CrossFit gym that decided to collect sneakers and athletic shoes to help their community. They chose to do it during the pandemic when they were suffering from a closed gym, but still, they wanted to help others. And we appreciate the large, national nonprofit that decided to partner with us after reading a post about the need to help female entrepreneurs and girls in developing nations.
Sacrifices Make Us Better as a People
We have countless stories of our more than 10,000 partners who sacrifice in some way to make things better for others. But we also want to give a shout-out to our team. During the pandemic’s height last year, when no one understood what this virus was, we closed our offices as directed by our local governments. Eventually, once we opened our office doors again, our team came back. Sure, there was concern and worry. But, they made the sacrifices necessary for their families, our communities, and partners who depended on us.
We spent those early weeks checking in with people to touch base and see how they were doing. Still, with time, we got back to business. Tens of thousands of nonprofits, families, schools, social organizations, faith-based groups needed us to open our doors and do what we do best. In short, as we know, the future of fundraising hit us all with full force, and things changed. And as another Easter season ends, and life gets back to backyard barbecues, grandparents hugging grandchildren, and businesses opening up for good, we want to thank all of those who sacrifice and continue to do it every day. In the spirit of Easter, we know those sacrifices make us better people.
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