It Ain’t All About the Turkey

Warp + Weft Thanks & Giving

Ah, Thanksgiving. The turkey, the stuffing, the fixings, the desserts. The football, the parade, the togetherness. Or, you may need a little Adele to get you through the whole thing, like this hilariously on-point SNL skit from 2015:

 

While the history of Thanksgiving is refuted, and the merits of what we are actually celebrating range from wholesome to downright murderous, what we can be thankful for is an annual holiday that brings us all together—family, friends, loved ones near and far. (Or, if you’re like this grandma from Arizona, some random teenager you texted by accident.)

In today’s busy world, it’s hard enough to get to the grocery store, let alone organize an epic feast-for-all. Let’s embrace the holiday for what it currently is; a welcome reminder to take time for our family, reinforce “the village,” and take a pause from daily life. In preparation for this year’s Thanksgiving holiday, Warp + Weft team shares what each is thankful for below. We encourage you to drop some warm and fuzzies in our Facebook comment section, too.

Jennie Malloy, Principal + Director of Story

I am thankful for a husband who believes in us; thankful for healthy, hilarious kids whose innocent wisdom and wit delight me every day; thankful for an extraordinary group of co-workers who work hard, laugh often, and push me to be better; thankful for friendships and family that both ground me and lift me up; and I am thankful to live in a country that allows me to speak my mind without fear, cast my vote freely, live in peace, keep my children safe, and inspires me to create, serve, and make a meaningful difference. Peace, safety, security shouldn’t feel like luxuries. But to so many in this world they are. We can help the next generation.

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.7998857/k.D075/Syria.htm

Aimee Goodwin, Principal + Creative Director

(Aimee has been on vacation in Florida. So, collectively, Warp + Weft thinks she is thankful for that right about now.)

While you’re sitting down to an abundant meal, don’t forget that there are others who struggle with food insecurity. Consider donating to Heffer International to help children and families around the world to become self-reliant for food.

https://www.heifer.org/gift-catalog/index.html?msource=KIKBJ16GP1075&gclid=CjwKEAiAmdXBBRD0hZCVkYHTl20SJACWsZj95N-IBZPEPMOPVdxbRef4WWkOxfsJlb3UiBniF65DNBoCl-7w_wcB

Kayla Quesnel, Digital Strategist

I am thankful for the strong women who lead by example in my life, the opportunity to work and live in such a beautiful area, a significant other who invariably supports my ambitions, and for our new home and the incredibly supportive friends and family who helped build it; especially since there are families who currently don’t have a home. But I am thankful that I am fortunate enough to be able to help.

http://shelterboxusa.org/about.php

Sarah Morgan Karp, Senior Designer

I’m thankful for my community—the strong, talented, limitless people who support me, challenge me, and make me laugh. They allow me a greater connection to the world as they afford me a look at it through their eyes, and a larger voice with which to express what I see through mine. I am grateful for this expanded view and this amplified voice. Help others get heard and connect with the world: join me in support of “journalism in the public interest” by donating to propublica.org.

Molly F. McGill, Senior Writer

I’m thankful for water. It may seem a trivial post at first, but when you consider that 1 in 10 people in the world lack access to safe water, the gravity of that hopefully sets in. For the past few months my family has been dealing with a well that needed serious filtration and repair, leaving us with brown, murky, nasty water coming from our facets. It made me realize how fortunate we are, how lucky my family is, that we don’t have to struggle to find water, a vital life source, and how we, as Americans, take things like having access to safe water totally for granted. If you’d like to help in providing safe water, please donate as I did to water.org. Because what good is our fortune if we don’t help others less fortunate?

Sidenote:

Put the giving back in Thanksgiving:

Consider making a donation this Thanksgiving to help the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe protesting the Dakota Access pipeline—which would send oil dangerously close to tribal land—by donating on their website.

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=eq06-EYH-dSTafdusC5PxZhcRg4HOKFWgY9KRQIhVW5qkv_nTEp_SxCaWA_plJunRGMrR0

Find the full links to references above here:

Richard Greener of Huffington Post on The True Story of Thanksgiving http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-greener/the-true-story-of-thanksg_b_788436.html

National Geographic’s Patrick J. Kiger also tells The True Story of Thanksgiving. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/saints-and-strangers/articles/the-true-story-of-thanksgiving/

History Channel has several videos about the holiday you can view here: http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving