By Ruth Filz
Palm Gardens RV Park

“It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving” Mother Teresa.

These words seem the way residents of Palm Gardens RV Park in Harlingen live their lives, but even more so during the holidays. Residents find fun ways to give to others. When our Bingo Bros were looking for ways to make our Tuesday night Bingo games more fun, they also hit on an idea to help others. If you brought a non-perishable item to one of our recent Bingo games, you received an extra card and Loaves and Fishes received items to add to their food pantry. Loaves and Fishes has been around since 1991 when they recognized the need for assisting families in Harlingen and Upper Cameron County and started the local food pantry. They are part of the Feeding America Nationwide Network which distributes 4.3 billion meals each year.

On a chilly November afternoon, ladies from the park got together to share friendship and hot apple cider and make some yarn Santa Clauses. When the ladies ventured out for their December Ladies Luncheon, they started at Jason’s Deli, where they enjoyed a delicious lunch. They then stopped by Valley View Senior Living Center to do some Christmas caroling and drop off the yarn Santa Clauses. Hopefully, the Santas will brighten the residents’ rooms for the holidays. Not sure who enjoyed the visit more, the residents of Palm Gardens or the Valley View residents! Everyone seemed to have a smile on their face when we left.

Since residents started returning to Palm Gardens this fall, they have been collecting teddy bears. We ended up with a total of 114 bears which were recently dropped off at the Harlingen Police Department. Police officers will carry the bears in their vehicles and give them to children that are going through a difficult situation. We’re sure the bears will put a smile on the children's faces and let them know someone cares about them. Teddy bears are already being collected to donate in the spring.

I’m sure many of you have heard about or even have had an Advent calendar. It’s from the German word “Adventskalender” and is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Typically, the calendars have a little door or box that number down to Christmas. Each door or box leads to candy or a small toy or gift. By now you’ve probably also heard of the Reverse Advent Calendar. It tells you to donate or give something each day – giving instead of getting. Members of the park used a Reverse Advent Calendar that listed a food item to be donated each day. We ended up with over 20 boxes of food that were donated to the food pantry at the Damien Center in Harlingen.

As you can see, the past two months have been busy at Palm Gardens giving to others, but you can be sure it was all done with a great deal of love.