The gift of giving

The gift of giving
By NG3 staff

Aside from the roasted turkeys and broccoli casseroles, the circled gift ideas in the advertisement magazines, the heavy coats and gloves instead of the jackets, and the tacky sweater parties for the folks from the office, the end of the year holds host to enumerable opportunities to serve others.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, many times the focus is on decorating the mantle and vacuuming before guests arrive or scouring the mall for the perfect present for that one family member for whom you have no gift ideas. 

NG3 Staff

For NG3, it is the perfect opportunity to open the eyes of high school students to see their communities in a new light.  Rather than become just another person scurrying around in a rat-race, these young people are given the chance to see the abundant needs of those around them.  More importantly, these teenagers are empowered with the knowledge that it doesn’t take superheroes to swoop in and rescue those around us.  Usually, just a helping hand will do, and they can be that helping hand.

Across Gwinnett County, NG3 staff members, kids from huddle groups, and student athletes from teams that work with NG3 are going out into the community and experiencing the gift of giving.  For those of us that have ever prepared and served meals at the mission, or cleaned up at a local park, or volunteered at the local food bank, we can attest that many times the preconceived notion, “we will be offering far more to those we serve than we will ever receive” is shattered.  Something inside all of us is awakened when we are able to reach out and offer a small piece of us, whether it be our time or talents or service, and feel the internal warmth that comes from being able to help.  It is truly a gift given to anyone and everyone who chooses to answer the call, sometimes silent, for help.  For high schoolers, these experiences at such a pivotal age, can be life-altering.  Lives being led with selfish intent are converted to lives dedi-cated to selfless endeavors.  

Students at Berkmar have built a new garden at a local school for medically ill children and spent an afternoon pressure washing tables and cleaning a nearby church.  Archer’s student athletes have teamed up with some of their peers at Grayson to volunteer at the Southeast Gwinnett Co-op.  The Brookwood football team spent an afternoon at a nursing home, serving lunch and entertaining some of the residents.  A handful of the football players at South Gwinnett have “adopted” a fellow student with special needs and have spent many afternoons doing what seems so very simple but can be so very important…hanging out.  These various initiatives aren’t limited to only staff-led outings.  Cliff Hagan, a stellar volunteer and leader in the Grayson community, led a handful of GHS students to assist in a soccer clinic with the Path Project.

Concurrently with these sundry community service initiatives, NG3 is hosting its first annual Christmas Tree Lot!  Located at 1400 Dogwood Drive in Snellville, this lot is not only a great fundraiser and opportunity for you to help show your support of NG3 and its ministry, but it is also a great way to serve.  Many nights, NG3 staff will be bailing trees, limbing bottoms, and installing tree stands alongside students from their school as well as volunteers from the community.  You are invited to come on out and buy a tree, or if you would like to participate as a volunteer for the tree lot, visit ng3.ivolunteer.com.  The next generation needs to understand what it means to receive the “gift of giving”, and you can be the ones to help show the way!

If you would like to learn more about volunteering through NG3, please visit NG3.co.

Please email info@ng3.co for more information on how you can be the difference!

Together….we can Be the difference! NG3 1440 Dogwood Rd.
Snellville, GA 30078

Interested in finding out more about what NG3 is doing to make a difference in the Next Generation or how you can help? Go to http://www.ng3.co. NG3 is a non-profit 501(c)3 independently funded by donors like you!!

NG3
P.O. Box 1429
Snellville, GA 30078
http://www.ng3.co

Archer HS
Thomas Jannett – Chaplain, Community Coach

Berkmar HS
Javier Muñoz – Character Coach, Community Coach

Brookwood HS
Matt Williams – NG3 Director  Chaplain, Community Coach

Grayson HS
Dustin Mattox – Chaplain, Community Coach

South Gwinnett HS
Michael Woelfl – Chaplain

Community Development
Jon Stinchcomb
jon@ng3.co

NG3 stands for Next Generation: Character  Community  Change.  Their goal is to develop men and women of character to create a positive change in our communities.  NG3 works directly with student athletes in high schools, teaching and practicing the importance of strong core values like responsibility, humility, integrity and honesty. The staff of NG3 works along side the coaches employed by the school, providing a constant presence of reliability and service.

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