On March 6, members of the BLIA Toronto Chapter, supported by the BLIA's English Sub-Chapter, Radiant Legacy Sub-Chapter, and Young Adult Division responded to a request to consider helping a local family that was facing some challenges.

Some 10 days prior the Boys & Girls Club of Peel reached out to our friends at the Peel Regional Police andidenti fied a family in need and connected with the BLIA. This family had suffered the loss of their mother leaving two young adult sisters to provide for themselves and, in addition, one of the sisters was soon expecting a child. In very short order our team gathered resources to obtain a list of items that would make a difference. These items were included: baby essentials such asbottles, diapers, baby food and anything baby-related.

In terms of food, there was a list of foods provided that would assist this family. Angeli Deenoo, who is the Family Program Supervising Coordinator for the Boys & Girls Club of Peel, worked closely with the members of our participating BLIA team to organize this contribution.

The contribution was gathered together very quickly and many thanks should be expressed to the participants who shopped, gathered and organized these materials to ease the strain of this family. As you can see from the picture, many diapers, wipes, baby clothes and staple foods were brought together as an offering.

In response, Susan Gray, Acting Inspector of the Regional Community Mobilization office of the Peel RegionalPolice, said: “Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos of the dedicated, hard-working, and caring members of our community. We really appreciate you including us in your charitable program and hope that we can continue to have this opportunity in the future.”

The Four Immeasurable Attitudes of Buddhism consist of Loving Kindness, Compassion, finding joy in the happiness of others and Equanimity. All of these attitudes played a part in the actions of those involved in this humble activity to assist. It is not for gratitude that we practice these virtues, but for the benefit of others while allowing us to express our practice in a real and effective manner. In this way, all involved fostered happiness in our world. As Venerable Master Hsing Yun says:

“Gain only comes after giving. You must sow before you reap.”

By Martyn Knowles