Growing up, I would go to my uncles house to pick peaches, plums, apples, grapes, and the list goes on…because if we didn’t pick and eat them, they would rot and go to waste. It would be so much fun, but I would always wonder what he did with all the leftover crop he didn’t sell. We had a big family, but I know we didn’t always eat it all. Who knew that there are such awesome people in the world that figured out a way to make use of the plethora of food we have to give to those that need it most…Residential Fruit Harvesters! (now known as Harvest CROPS and Meals4Hunger)

Harvest CROPS coordinates with residences to let volunteers pick their fruit for low-income families and seniors. Very, very cool. Today I joined them, and we picked over 25 buckets full of oranges and a couple buckets of sapotes to give away! I know my uncle would be proud :)

The owner even had a macadamia nut...

Not sure if this counts much, but for at least two years, this old man at the San Diego International Airport always brightened my day as I exited the parking lot. I heard they get perks for good feedback so I’m sending a comment card in today!

Please excuse my chicken scratch., but thank you sir for simply being you, calling me madam for kicks, and letting me pass like a VIP with my parking validation from work, lol. It’s always something I look forward to when I am there.

Blue skies,
Thao

My day started at 3:30am after dropping my sister off in LA after a super fun weekend. I got into SD around 5:30am and a McDonald’s hash brown sounded glorious.

As I began to exit the drive thru, I remembered how I’ve always wanted to pay it forward by paying for the person behind me in the drive thru. I always pictured myself paying for a family of 6 or something (lol no idea why…talk about stereotyping fast food America -_- ) but meh the sun was still sleeping and though I admit a complete fail at trying to peek if it really was a family of 6…it’s kinda really cool that I couldn’t see anyone in the car.

Anywho, Mr./Ms. Random Stranger, I hope you enjoy your $8.85 breakfast at 5:45am and have a great start to your week.

Added: Before I forget, it actually felt nerve racking and I didn’t want to be seen so I sped off too fast after I paid…took the wrong turn, and had to come back...

In June, I stumbled upon Compassion International twice in just a few days. I was inspired by their work and knew it was no stumbling accident. Out of curiosity, I got a free quote right away.

Today, I finally activated my car insurance through a BeCause of Camilito Agent. I have a BETTER auto policy now, am saving about $500/year on car insurance AND help save lives just because I chose them as my agent. 100% of their profits go to charity - Compassion International.

How does this work? Insurance agents get commission for writing your insurance policy and every time it is renewed. BeCause of Camilito takes the commission they get and donates 100% of it directly to one of three causes:

1) Unsponsored Children - provides funds for children that are not yet sponsored by providing them food, medical, and an education

2) Water of Life - helps tackle water-related diseases that are...

Welcome Caritas 33! It was such a blessing to have the opportunity it serve with the Caritas family on the e-team. E-team helps with all the behind the scenes work of the retreat. I never knew how much thought goes into each and every piece of Caritas. From name tags, door tags, seating arrangements, and way more.

Thank goodness I enjoy this stuff it made my time serving that much more fun. Of course can’t forget the awesome people too!

Caritas is a Catholic young adult retreat that focuses on helping people explore God’s love and voice in their lives through relationships with those around them.

It’s been one full year since I went on Caritas 29 and what a fruitful year it has been! I could talk for hours about my experience. Let’s just say I’ve been feeling good, living better since.

Cheers to loooOoove.

For information about the Caritas Retreat, click here. Please feel...

The idea to give 25 acts of goodness (give my age) came to me before my 25th birthday. One thing led to another and it turned into 25 at 25. Here is why I’m doing it.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been super down for helping out for a good cause. Truthfully, I probably don’t even blink an eye because I know its always worth my time and effort. This year, I wanted to highlight that a little more in my life because I’ve begun to see the light clearer nowadays. Ephesians 5:8-14 is one of my beautiful favorites right now, but for this project in particular 8-9…

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.

It is my duty to live in that light.

I started with 1 Serve the Homeless on my 25th birthday. I thought, instead of going out to a nice restaurant where my kind...

(Home of Protection) has been recognized as a leader in treating and preventing child abuse and neglect in San Diego County and beyond. I can’t say too much, but I will say that the services they provide to some of the most abused and neglected kids are so great. They offer counseling, space for supervised family visitation, transition programs for those 18+, and offer support to young moms.

They currently house approximately 35 children in their level 12 (of 14! O_O) facility and offer services to hundreds of children. WOW right? Casa de Amparo residents are boys and girls, 6-21 years of age including those with special healthcare needs, who have been removed from their homes as a result of abuse or severe neglect.

I am SO glad these children get to enjoy such a beautiful campus. They deserve it.

To learn more about Casa de Amparo click here.

I contacted the volunteer...

I was evacuated from my office and it was just terrifying. I could see the flames in the rear-view mirror and traffic was NOT moving. I called the one I loved dearest to ensure their safety and couldn’t help but think of all the parents trying to get to their kids. It made my heart drop. I sat at home the first day glued to the TV mesmerized by terror.

I wanted to help. I kept hearing about 2-1-1, and after talks with my aptmate, we decided to take action.

The May fires were declared a State of Emergency. The month of May isn’t even fire season. With a total of ELEVEN fires in an off-fire season, there was a major need for quick disaster responders. Boy did SD come through with 800 volunteers to answer 33,000 calls! O_O. Yea, there was definitely a huge demand for help.

2-1-1 and its volunteers did an amazing job. I volunteered for the late night shift at 2-1-1’s call center the...

Sometimes when I come across something I like, I find a way to post it on my bedroom wall. I posted this on my wall many months before planning my birthday and never would have imagined that it would inspire me to do as I did! (Luke 14: 12-14)

Thank you everyone for coming and joining in on preparing food and joining the men at La Posada for heartfelt talks. I know the talking part was especially challenging for some. A few of my friends came up to me to express their concerns like “I don’t know what to say” or “I don’t want to say the wrong thing.” Truthfully, I didn’t know what to say either. I had been at La Posada once before, but we mostly sang Christmas carols during dinner and other people did the talking. All I knew was - they’re human too.

What I thought was so beautiful was that by the end of the night, each one of us was able to sit down and get to know someone that was...