Ryan Van Wagenen - "In December, It's Time to Give of our Time!"

My name is Ryan Van Wagenen. I'm a native of this great state from Cottonwood Heights. Before this year, almost all my daily focus was on myself, family and work. Now that I am retired and have a lot more free time, I have decided to make my focus on helping others whenever possible. I have been so much happier since I've been this way! My family is constantly telling me that I feel like a new and improved man. I have been a Christian my whole life, but I feel much closer to God than ever. We are so blessed to have such great residents here locally. I feel strongly that this state is one of the best places on earth. I'm hoping a lot of the city will adopt the motto "Let's Make 2018 the Year of Giving."

With Christmas coming up, it's a great time to get focused on the reason for giving. One of the main reasons we have the custom of giving presents at Christmas, is to have a reminder of the presents that were given by the Wise Men to Jesus at his birth: Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh. Frankincense was a perfume used in Jewish worship and, as a gift, it showed that people would worship Jesus.

- Frankincense was a perfume used in Jewish worship and showed that Jesus would be worshipped
- Gold was given as Kings and Christians believe that Jesus is the King of Kings
- Myrrh was a perfume that made dead bodies smell nice and showed that Jesus would suffer and die

So with this in mind, we give as a reminder of Jesus and to show of our appreciation for all that we have been given. One great opportunity for us to give in the state this December is for the great cause of providing Earthquake Christmas Relief for the Oaxaca Kids. Below are more details:

EL BARRIO SALVA AL BARRIO

Sat, December 9, 2017
7:00 – 10:00pm

Mestizo Institute-Culture
631 West North Temple #700
SLC, UT 84116

Description: Come and join the cause to aid kids who lost their homes on the recent earthquakes in the state of Oaxaca. This is an event using the promotion of culture and local artists. The purpose of this event is to aid directly kids in the communities of Ixtepec, Niltepec, Juchitan, Ixtaltepec in the state of Oaxaca. The goal is to make it a happy Christmas for kids who might need clothing or even medicine. This event will feature local hand made jewelry and local artist.

Live performance by
Santos Guzman of Los Angeles

Guest Speaker:
Xochiacatl Lopez

The Rat Shop (Local Shop)
Will be selling hand made jewelry and shirts to help the cause.
100% of all sales will go towards the fundraiser.

Another opportunity for our youth to give of their time is through Youthlinc. See below details:

Tue, December 5, 2017
6:30 – 8:30pm

Youthlinc
1140 Brickyard Road Ste 76
SLC, UT 84106

Please join Youthlinc to participate in a workshop called "Bridges out of Poverty." This workshop will help you understand more about intergenerational poverty and the challenges folks face in breaking the poverty cycle. The group will discuss how we can be allies in helping others overcome the obstacles on the path to get out of poverty. Service Year students and Alum Leaders will earn 2 hours of miscellaneous service by attending this workshop!

This article was written by Ryan Van Wagenen, a local Cottonwood Heights resident. Please contact Ryan if you have any questions about the article or have ideas on ways to further improve the community.