Love in action: A Valentine's Day charity gift

By Karli Larson, TisBest Charities and Communities Manager
The wise and compassionate Fred Rogers once said that love is an active noun. What he meant by this is that love is not necessarily a state of being; it’s a state of doing. Love in motion is a powerful force. It can give hope, shelter and relief. It can change someone’s day- or their life. It can bring us together in ways that nothing else can. It’s an incredible thing to think about, really: just by being human and having the capacity to love, each one of us has the ability to change the world.

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, it’s a good time to think about love in its many forms. I love my children, my partner, my extended family. I love my friends and my neighbors and my community. How do I show this love? What is it that I do to “pay it forward,” using the love I feel as a starting point for a ripple effect of good things? The way my love is enacted changes depending on the person or situation, but the intention is the same each time. I want to leave the things, the people, and the places I love better than when I found them. I want my love to change things for the better, in all cases. This could sound egotistical, but it isn’t, not really. After all, to know we are loved is life-altering and life-affirming. It’s powerful. It just is.

Part of my job is to understand the reasons behind and the motivation for giving a charity gift card as a gift, rather than the alternative (whatever that may be). One of the most common reasons people seem to choose giving a charity gift card is that they want their gift recipient to have the experience of doing something amazing. While many of our TisBest Charity Gift Cards end up lovingly paired with other, more conventional gifts of “stuff,” the overwhelming consensus in our gift card purchasers is that they want their colleagues, friends and loved ones to have that “warm glow” feeling of doing something good in the world. Even when given to a boss, an acquaintance or a perfect stranger, the desire to give this gift of goodness is a perfect example of love in action. Call it fate, destiny or kismet, the conclusion here is clear: Valentine’s Day and TisBest Charity Gift Cards were made for each other.

This Valentine’s Day, try adding a charity gift card to your bouquet of long-stem roses or box of chocolates. Tuck it in a card. Slip it under a pillow. Pop one in the mail and send this little dose of goodness and love to someone far away. Show the people in your life how your love for them can start a chain reaction. Together, you will change the world.

Design and order your own charity gift card now at www.tisbest.org
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