I realized that I live a pretty sheltered life while contemplating who I might give the Angels $100 gift to…not that I haven’t experienced cold, hungry, homeless days earlier in my life. I thought about those days and where I would have appreciated encountering someone with a generous gift and open heart.

I went to the local food bank and watched the long line of people filter out of the doors with their seemingly meager supplies. It was just a few days before Christmas and so many people were looking for sustenance for their holiday meal.

I decided to follow a woman to her van as she was being assisted with her box of food. I told her about the Angels on the Streets program and that I had a gift for her. I asked if it would help her family through the holidays. She said it would, especially with feeding them. She is the mother of six with nine grandchildren, four of whom are living with her. She gave me a big hug as I handed her the envelope with the holiday money.