Here are the stories of how you practiced generosity!

1. We missed the service. But we heard all about it, what a blessing our church is to this community. I know this is supposed to be for the giver - but I thought it would be nice to hear from a receiver. We have been struggling financially… But we were so blessed with $20 from a couple in the church who also added a $40 gift card to Aldi's. Receiving this gift when we were struggling was such a huge blessing! Very humbling, when I know they struggle too. So how it made us feel was grateful, loved, and not alone. Thank you!

2. Gave it to a guy trying to sell baby clothes for 20$ to get something to eat. Told him I didn't need the clothes but gave him 25$. He was so happy and thankful and even asked for a hug.

3. One would think that it is easy to give away $20.00. For me, it was not. After 2 weeks with NO opportunities, I drove through the drive thru of Dunkin Donuts. I did the "pay it forward" AND "behind". The driver in front of me, waved and told the server to thank me. I had enough money left for the car behind me, so I paid for his coffee.  At first, I felt like a big shot, but then I had thought what if this act of kindness was somehow carried through in these strangers to others? I have never been able to pay it forward before so it was nice that I could make a stranger's day a little brighter with hope that this stranger would also be kind to other strangers.

4. I was walking on Main Street when I saw a man and heard God talk to me to ask the man if he was hungry.  I did what God said and asked the man "Are you hungry?"  He said,"yes I am" So I asked him to come with me.  We walked to Wayback Burgers and I bought him a burger and some water. We sat together and  I told him God told me to share a meal with him.

5. I thought I might give the money to a homeless person in Middletown but it was so cold no one was on the street. So I want with my Plan B and so grateful I did. Several months ago Rich and I visited the Typhoon Thai restaurant in Middletown and we were one of the last people being served. The owner had attempted to turn away a couple because it was past serving time. The customers made a horrible stink (berating the owner) and the owner reluctantly sat them at a table and you could tell the owner was not happy. Several minutes later a homeless man entered the restaurant, it was a cold night, and I watched as the owner told the gentlemen to take a seat and a short bit later came out with a huge bag of food. Her generosity, especially after being belittled, was something I never forgot. I suspected this was not the first time she feed the homeless. So I visited the restaurant during lunch and spoke with the owner. She was almost in tears hearing me tell her that I remembered her feeding the homeless after the kitchen had closed and how much it meant to me. I told her I wanted to bless her and handed her the envelope which contained $20. It wasn't much but I wanted her to know that her act of kindness was not unnoticed and is something I will always remember. She told me she never turns the homeless away. She said we were both blessed, wished me a happy New Year and said God Bless you. She asked if it was ok to give me a huge.

6. Gave the money to a man who lost his home and his job. He was so grateful because he needs money for food.

7. Matched it.  Gave to an elderly man collecting shopping carts at Market23.   It was pouring rain turning to sleet.

8. I pooled the money with another, and I was able to purchase three gas cards for three families in need.

9. I bought cards from stop and shop with the money. Today I gave them both to a man who was sitting on the sidewalk near the dollar next to his cart of bags. I almost drove past but turned and parked. As I walked towards he gave me a cheerful hello and asked how I was doing. I told him that that Fellowship had given us money to give away. When he saw the two cards his eyes lit up and he said, "I was wondering how I was going to eat today". He had such a gentleness about him. As I drove out we waved to each other.

10. A member of our church had fallen on hard times. I recieved 20 dollars. So I gave her the 20 for food.

11. We doubled it and gave it to a homeless person I used to ignore daily.

12. I added to the money I received and donated to a Gofundme for a beautiful soul who just came through her first year of sobriety and did it with and through God. She is kind and filled with hope and love.

13. Gave it to a man who looked like all his possessions were in his shopping cart.

14. Gave to a summer camp fund for kids who aren't able to afford the camp

15. Parker is a young man at the gym who wants to be a marine. We've chatted a few times about his struggles and his mental health. After talking with him Friday I put $20 anonymously on his account at the gym for smoothies and stuff.

16. My hubby and I combined our money then went to Walmart with our 4 kiddos. We used the money to purchase toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, chapstick etc. We used those items and made the kids assembled little care bags to hand out to people we see with cardboard signs on the roads and at intersections.

17. I work at a library and waited for someone to get to a desk and leave their stuff so I could put the envelope there before they came back

18. We were given $10 and we added $20 and bought dog food and had it shipped to the CT Humane Society.

19. We gave it to Donors Choose LA wild fire relief fund to buy school supplies for kids effected by the fire.

20. I matched it and donated to a women in need holding a sign while leaving local grocery store.

21. On our way home we talked about how we would use the money when we came across a homeless very old gentleman.  We stopped and i asked him if i could hug him. He accepted. Then i offered him the envelope and told him it was a very small gift , i hoped it could help him today. I then told him Jesus loves him & then shook his hand. He was pushing a cart up a steep hill near Weslyan.

22. A man walking on South Main St carrying a large plastic bag of cans to the recycling center.

23. I was at a deli and bakery Friday . I had never been there before so I had many questions about what I was interested in purchasing (both deli items and bakery items). The people who worked at the deli were especially patient and kind. So I left my money in the envelope it came in as an extra tip in their tip jar.

24. Buy the coffee order for the car behind me in the drivethru.

25. Gave it to a young broke college kid working hard at a local restaurant who doesn't make a lot in tips.. she said that made her day!

26. 2 envelopes were given to a man on the Berlin Tpke. His gloves were ripped- it was cold but we told him perhaps a coffee and a burger when it was time to head in would be good. The man shared his battle with cancer, talked about his wife and his cats and then stopped - thinking he was rambling and just said a soft thank you before we departed.

27. We bought certificates for Stop and Shop and gave them out.

28. PriceRite gift card given to a family that was shopping there.

29. Price Rite gift card to a family.

30. I decided to give my $20 to my neighbor to help with his expenses. He just got on disability for a serious back injury but has not received compensation yet. He also just had surgery and felt very overwhelmed with everything. He started to tear up just at the thought that I was offering to help.

31. I donated the money to a fundraiser that was raising funds to support a struggling family. The father has been diagnosed with cancer, and there are many bills to pay.

32. Bought perishable food items that the Meriden Soup Kitchen needed in order to help feed those in need.

33. If the ministry team approves, I'd like to add $40 to the $10, and donate it for the Financial Peace University. I would like the $50 to be made available as a door prize drawing for anyone who attends FPU and proves they signed up for Ramsey+. The condition is that they must apply the $50 towards their debt.

34. I added it to my donation to a charity , Mercury One. They are on the ground assisting  the people in the fires in CA. as well as the flood victims in the Carolinas and elsewhere.

35. I have a story, of course. I am constantly amazed at how the Lord works in our lives. If we can just slow down a bit and think about it. On Saturday our ladies group was canceled 😞 but a friend and I decided to go out for tea/coffee anyway. We went to a new place in town, (small family run). We had a great time and fellowshiped for 2 hours. I went up to the counter to pay and the lady gave me .60 cents back and I gave it back for a tip.  I am still confused about tipping when they are not really waiting on you. Later that night had this thought come into my head (was that rude to give her the left over change?)I decided that next time I go in there I will give a better tip. Next day at church as soon as Andy talked about the envelope, the waitress came to mind. So when I went in there this week the owner was there and I told her my story. She said it was her sister and she comes in to help out sometimes.She asked me to put my name on the envelope and said she will love the story. So I put my name right underneath the church name on the envelope. Maybe she will be inquisitive and check out our church. As I walked out, i bumped into our retired children's librarian, I hadn't seen her in over year. We are now going to meet there for tea.

36. Gave to a Christian organization helping Israel.

37. I was shopping in Walmart and the young man in line of ahead of me seemed to be having trouble paying for his order.  I told him God told me to bless someone today and I chose him.  I told him God loved him.  He could NOT thank me enough and told me he knows God loves him and how much he appreciated the $20 because he needed it.

38. I prayed all week for God to put someone on my heart and in my path to bless.  I  wrote Jesus Loves you and God is with us on the envelope.  Today I gave the envelope with $10 to Steven, an older man working taking in carts at grocery store…he stopped to wave, smile and say hello to me And ask me how I was feeling today!  We talked, he said he was going in for surgery and that i probably wouldn't  see him working there for a while… he touched my heart….at that moment I knew this was the person God led me to bless…I prayed for him, handed him the envelope of which he refused at first..and then gently he slipped it in his back pocket… we parted ways…

39. I purchased a $20 gift card for a woman who works at the Stop & Shop Express checkout. She works hard to reset the the machines when they mess up however she is usually by herself and it is very hectic and stressful. She is met with some impatient and rude customers and she always puts a smile on. I cant imagine having to put up with that job. I handed her the card and told her how i noticed how well she handles he stressful job so gracefully and she deserves to be recognized with a small gift. She looked at me and started to tear up. She said it is my 25th anniversary at the company and she can't believe I just did that for her. It actually made me tear up a little. She was very shocked and gave me a hug and could not thank me enough.

40. We sent it along with 10x what we received to the Salvation Army NC relief fund.

41. There were many considerations as there are many needs. I decided to donate the money to PreBorn!, a Christian pro-life organization.  With over 625K babies being aborted each year in the US, its a huge issue for God. The donation will be used for a prayer initiative, clinic resouces and evangelism training, all to save mothers and their babies.

42. I combined what I was given with my adult daughter's amount to give to a church-planting mission and food pantry in a much needed area.

43. I combined the amount I received with my father's amount and we gave to a needy local food pantry and a church-planting mission.

44. I bought a meal for an elderly woman.

45. Give Back To Fellowship For The Needs Of The hvac system that is old and needs replacement / repairs.

46. Gave it to a Lady checking out after me at Dollar Tree.

47. I have a friend who is a double amputee and her daughters boyfriend's mother had no place to live so she ended up living with my friend and caring for her.  She has many health issues herself so I gave my 20.00 to her.

48. I purchased a couple items from the Sunflower Kids Pediatric Palliative Care Team's wish list. The organization supports families with kids in palliative care at CCMC.

49. Paid it forward at dunkin.

50. It was great fun (so proud of my church for this). After discussing options with my 10 y o grandson Went to grocery armed with my $ and surveyed the people. Saw a man with a loaded cart and a small child. Told him my church gave us $ to give away. His look was priceless. Gave him the $ and he was very happy. Said "God bless you" very appreciative.

51. I GAVE IT TO A HOMELESS WOMAN STANDING AT ENTRANCE TO BJ'S PARKING LOT.

52. I took the money given and added to it to send $50 to Salvation Army in Altadena, CA.

53. Gave a gift basket to a friend going through chemo.

54. I bought a snack and drinks at the dollar store where a man was sitting outside.

55. Gave to Drew Harrison for his trip to Costa Rica.

56. Donated to Fostering Family Hope. An organization driven by a strong foundation of support, community involvement, and physical & financial donations to meet the needs of the foster community that too often go unnoticed.

57. I plan on giving the money back to help out at the food bar at fellowship church Sunday also wanted to say I appreciate all the work these servers do every week!

58. Assisted with birthday celebration from sponsored child in Haiti.

59. Food insecurity has always been a cause that we are passionate about.  We contacted our local food pantry and asked what they needed most.  They sent us a list and we, as a family, decided to purchase as much dish detergent and household cleaners as we could, since those were at the top of the list.

60. Bought a subway gift card to hand to a homeless person with a blessing bag.

61. I have the $5 to my brother. He went back to school in North Carolina before I gave it to him and I'm so proud of him for all the accomplishments he made during a before he started university. He absolutely deserves some recognition.

62. For about three years I sent books to incarcerated men and women across the US through the Prison Book Project. We received donations from various sources on various subject matter. Unfortunately, the organization closed its doors in January 2024. I used the $10 to buy one of my incarcerated pen-pals a book on how to write a script because that is one of his goals for 2025.

63. I gave it to a woman I work with.  She is a paraprofessional who works with specials needs students.  She had a stroke in the fall and now has added medical bills to the top of her recovery.  She is in her early 40's and all of this was a difficult challenge and a shock to her and her family.

64. I gave the money to a relative who has no source of income at the time .

65. Donated to NICU Helping Hands, Family Support for Fragile Beginnings.

66. My best friend got her wisdom teeth taken out and i bought her soup and flowers to cheer her up!

67. I gave it to a begger in Waterbury. He had a sign that said … Anything would be a blessing.. I gave the envelope to him… and wished him well

68. I prayed long and hard to how i should handle this responsibility........ my answer was I should give it out where it would the most good. The church gave me 20.00 to give to someone who could use it........ I can think of  no one more deserving than a house of God ....so I returned the 20.00 plus 50% more.

69. I bought groceries to donate to Amazing Grace Food pantry.  Bought Cheerios , basmati rice and cereal bars .

70. A man asked me for money to buy groceries for his mother when I parked in a parking lot.

71. I bought my dad and brother each a pastry from the new bakery down the street.

72. Gave to my coworkers son in college and doing a semester in  South Korea.