We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and wish you all the best in the coming New Year. We look forward to sharing great food and good times with many of you over the coming weeks and for those that we can't see, you are in our thoughts. 2010 was, as Owen likes to say, a "mixed-bag" of times both good and bad so we're excited to see what 2011 brings.
We decided to send our holiday greeting electronically for two reasons, the first being environmental. We made an effort this year to become more environmentally conscious after Owen came home from school talking about recycling and being good to the Earth. So, in continuing with our efforts and to reduce the environmental impact caused by mailing paper greeting cards, we've decided to go digital and won't be sending any. The tradition of sending out Christmas cards ranks Christmas as the most popular card sending holiday, to the tune of 2.2 billion cards, many of which will end up in landfills. There are also carbon dioxide emissions from paper manufacturing and mail trucks to consider. We realize that Christmas cards are a traditional way to show you care about friends and family but we thought this was an excellent alternative that lets us show we care about you too while keeping in line with our environmental efforts.
Our second reason was about giving back as we feel very fortunate and grateful for everything we have been able to achieve. For those that don’t know, Owen became a big Michael Jackson fan this year. As we were driving home from dinner one night and listening to “Man In The Mirror”, one of Owen’s favorites, he started asking about the meaning of the song. We got to talking, analyzing the lyrics and explaining what it all meant when Owen became very sad. He said it made him upset that some people don’t have enough to eat or don’t have homes to live in and he wanted to make a change. So, in the spirit of giving, we've decided that we would donate the money we would normally spend on Christmas cards and postage to do some good in the world and make a change.
This year we've chosen to donate to EduNations. For those of you that don’t know, EduNations is an organization that is committed to making a change and providing a brighter future for the forgotten children of Sierra Leone and other parts of Africa. EduNations builds schools, educates children, provides health services, AIDS prevention, adult education, vocational training, community empowerment and most importantly, HOPE.
If you sent us a card this year, please don’t feel upset or slighted when you don’t get one in return and instead remember that for every card we didn’t send we’re helping our Earth and children in need. If anything we’ve done or said has inspired you embrace alternatives, feel free to skip our card next year and send us an email, blog post, or a Facebook message instead because we still love hearing from you all and seeing your holiday photos too!
Here is our annual picture of Owen by the Christmas tree.
Happy Holidays!
Love,
Mike, Torri, and Owen
Very touching. :)
ReplyDelete-Sean (Owen's Friend)