Thanksgiving is a time to be selfless...

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what life is really all about, what you truly have to be thankful for. It is a day for people to look beyond our differences, accept each other’s flaws, and be thankful that you get to spend those few hours in the company of the ones you love. 

Family might not always be the people you want to be around but they are the people that will be around when no one is. Our time on this earth is so very short and we need to be constantly reminded of how fragile life is.

Just last weekend my sister, Jennifer, and I were running errands and noticed a homeless man and his young child with a sign “Please help our family”. In that moment, I was thankful my parents gave me a roof over my head and a warm bed to sleep in. I was never subjected to standing on the side of the street, begging for money to make ends meet. I feel very bad for that little girl, her memory will be scarred for life. That image is still embedded in my mind.

Thanksgiving to me is HOPE. A day set aside for family. Hope that one day, this world will not be such a bad place. In a perfect world, it would be ‘Thanksgiving’ every day. This world is far from perfect.

Jennifer and I then went to Subway to purchase a gift card. It wasn’t much but would help in feeding a family of 4. We wrote the name and address for our church - St. Margaret’s in Oceanside - with a kind note, "Happy Holidays!". When we went to drop it off, the two were nowhere to be found. We drove around and were unable to find them. Thanksgiving is a time to be selfless.

After this experience, we started talking about ways we could and should help with our community. We brainstormed many different ideas: helping at shelters, donating canned food, creating gift bags, buying gift cards to pass out, there are so many options.  These ideas that take a few minutes out of our lives and could change someone else’s perspective on life and what their worth actually is. The solution was all of these ideas and more.

Looking at the bigger picture. Bringing awareness to any situation, big or small. This is how WE can help. We can discuss sensitive subjects, in a safe way. This IS what the Mobile Generated News app is all about. Allowing our friends, families, peers, anyone, to have a voice and to be heard.

Let’s not focus on what WE should be thankful for and focus on making less fortunate situations, hopeful. I challenge you to a daily act of kindness, just until Christmas. Go out of your way, to make someone’s day a little better. Be thankful for what you have been given and reciprocate that by your actions. Share your stories on the Mobile Generated News® App. Help us, give this world hope for a better tomorrow. 

Until next time.

─Jana Rowland

Don’t forget to download the Apps!  Just search for Mobile Generated News.  And, when you do that search you will see two brand new, MoGN Apps  ̶  The Entravision-Mobile Generated News App and the Serestar-Mobile Generated News App.

Now, video and still images from your smartphone and tablet can be seen on the Entravision-Mobile Generated News® Network of Broadcast Stations in Albuquerque, Boston, Denver, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Hartford, Laredo, Las Vegas, Monterey/Salinas, Odessa/Midland, Orlando, Palm Springs, Reno, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tampa, Valle de Rio Grande, Washington, DC and Yuma/El Centro.

The Serestar-Mobile Generated News® Broadcast station covers the Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto market.

Remember, if it is newsworthy, we will post it nationwide and you will see it on the MoGN “Newsfeed” distributed to Broadcast Stations, Newspapers, Web Sites and news organizations across the United States and soon around the World.  

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