Make a Difference Monday - Bubble Gum Blessings

We live in College Station, home of Texas A&M University and more than 58,000 students (yes, you read that correctly - 58 THOUSAND students!).  One of the many things we love about Texas A&M are the core values that it instills in anyone that is associated with the university.  They are excellence, integrity, leadership, loyalty, respect, and selfless service. Selfless service is one of my favorites!

"A&M encourages volunteerism, encourages being one of a thousand points of light, helping others... and it comes naturally to Aggies." - Former U.S. President George Bush

I'm always on the lookout for ways that I can get my kids involved in serving others in our community.  I want them to see that they can make a difference - regardless of how old they are.  It's a bonus when you can bless more than 300 people for less than $20!!!

For the past couple of years, at the end of each semester, we'll head to one of the libraries on campus and hand out bubble gum to students studying for finals.  (You can read all about our December project here.)  We grab a couple of large containers of Super Bubble at Sam's for less than $8 a box.  Proof that it doesn't take a lot of money or time to make someone's day!

The first time we went, I only took the bigs and we had more fun than we ever imagined so the next time and every time since, we've had our friends Dillon and Carly come too.  Serving is more fun when you are with friends!  We even have a fun little Instagram account - bowsandbrosadventures!

So, what exactly do we do?  It's pretty simple.  We head to the library during finals week and the kids hand out bubble gum and a little piece of paper explaining what they are doing.  They have been told repeatedly know that the students are studying so they quietly hand them the bubble gum and tell them to "blow away finals." #blowawayfinals

sadly Dillon had baseball practice this night - we sure missed him!

Why do I love this so much?  It's an AMAZING experience for our kiddos!  I'm sure you're thinking, "it's two pieces of bubble gum" but these college kids get so excited when they see the kids handing out stuff!  They don't know what it is but they eagerly wait till it's their turn.  The smiles begin to ripple across the room and I can't help but stand back and smile too!

This was Hope's first time to join us!  She was a little shy but she wanted to be apart of the fun too!

The slip of paper asks the students to take pictures of themselves blowing bubbles.  We do this for a number of reasons.  One, it's fun for our kids to get back in the car and scroll through the pics and see some of the people they blessed.  It's also a fun little break for the college kids.  Here's a few pictures from the other night.

Passing out bubble gum is one small way that we can serve the students in our community.  I'm sure there are many more ways that we can all pitch in to put a smile on the face of others.

And while our goal is to bless others, I guarantee our kiddos get just as many blessings in return.  They love when the college students say thank you with fist bumps or hugs.  They look forward to this each semester and I hope it's a tradition for years to come!

It doesn't matter what you give - only that you give!

Have a blessed week!  Gig 'em and God bless!

Holly

and come back on Wednesday for the Waiting on...Wednesday link-up - a place where you can link up what you are waiting on, going through, making, anything - as long as it's family-friendly!  :)

You can check my FAVORITE link-ups page to find the awesome girlies I'm linking up with today.  Show them some love! :)

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Much appreciation goes out to Mrs. AOK, A Work in Progress and MrsTeeLoveLifeLaughter for featuring my bubble gum blessings post!  Much love, ladies!