Last Saturday there was a family outing in Germantown.  There was no food (at least not for consumption), no games or recreation.  There was no service provided these families, no handouts for them; there were no monetary incentives.  Parents had to take care of their own kids.   No public restrooms were available.

And yet, as you can see in the picture, their faces gleam with joy.  How does this happen?

Germantown Global Connection teamed up with Evolve Martial Arts Studio to deliver Easter baskets to all the children and food boxes and whole chickens to all the families in the Germantown trailer park (off Rte. 355 just South of Gunners Branch Rd.).  We picked up the baskets from the Upcounty Hub in the Town Center and delivered them to the 300+ doorsteps of the sprawling trailer park that covers an entire hillside in East Germantown.  Parents and kids alike loaded them into cars, knocked on doorknobs, and handed them to eager residents whose gratitude was oftentimes overwhelming.

In total, 18 families participated, about half from GGC and half from Evolve, with approximately 35 individuals of all ages.  We were assisted by the staff and volunteers at Upcounty Hub who had spent weeks making the Easter baskets and were on hand to help load them up.

One of the 8-year-old volunteers was handed an Easter basket to take to a trailer home and asked her parent: “Can I have one too?”  Noticing her parent’s awkward reply (“No, honey, these are not for you”), I intervened: “You know how fun it is to receive an Easter basket, don’t you?” I asked her.  She nodded.  “Well, sometimes it can be even more fun to give it away!”  She smiled, grabbed the basket, and got in the car with her mom, happily getting the message.

We assume too little – of ourselves and our young ones.  It doesn’t take much to create joy, just a willingness to give back and to partner with others doing the same.  It might just be the best family outing you could have!