This guest message was written by Sara Einterz, wife of The Caring Center Board President, Mike Einterz.
As our 8 children have grown and started families of their own, our Christmas traditions have also evolved. We have always hosted a Christmas morning brunch and gift exchange with the 10 of us, plus spouses and 16 grandkids, and often additional guests. Those days of celebrating are loud, chaotic and wonderful. A few years ago, Mike and I decided that we would like to add an adult activity around Christmas time to allow for more conversation and a chance to really reconnect with each other without quite so much chaos. The destination and activity are always a surprise; we simply tell them to get a babysitter and show up on the given date and time.
I encourage you to pick a project or program or two and become involved with it and those who are served through it.
Mike Einterz, President of The Caring Center Board
This year we decided to do a group service project and knew that The Caring Center could benefit from the manpower we had to offer. We contacted Theresa Hanners, and she was thrilled to work with us on setting up our “Einterz Excursion,” the moniker we have given our annual adult outings. With Theresa’s help, we created a top ten list of grocery needs which became our scavenger hunt list. On the morning of the excursion, we all met at our home, and we divided everyone into teams. The teams were given the list, $50 in cash and told they had to purchase at least one of every item on the list. The team that came closest to spending exactly $50 would win a prize, and the team that did it in the least amount of time would also win a prize. As we sent the teams off, we gave them the address of The Caring Center and told them to meet us at that address following their shopping scavenger hunt. When everyone arrived, they unloaded their items, and we presented them with their next task.
Mike and I had been previously trained by Theresa on the procedure to sort through bags and boxes of donated items. Because of COVID-19 and reduced volunteer hours, the stack of bags of items needing to be sorted was almost to the ceiling. We quickly explained the guidelines to our family members and got to work, assembly line style. Some of us carried bags from the donation pile, opened and set the items out on tables; while others sorted through the items and divided them based on sizes, condition, gender, season, etc. We reorganized the donation area as we worked and by the end of the day, we had opened and sorted through every bag. We spent 4 hours together working while we laughed, told stories, argued, learned about new jobs, shared plans and hopes for the new year. We concluded the 2021 Einterz Excursion with dinner together, during which there was much conversation about how each of us plan to give and serve others throughout the year in the true spirit of Christmas. Each and every one commented on how humbling and uplifting the experience was and the need to make it a regular family activity.
Thank you,
Sara Einterz, filling in for Mike Einterz, President
The Caring Center Board
765-482-2050