Her grandmother passed away on the holiday so it’s a tradition for the 26-year-old’s entire family to come together in Santa Rosa, California, and honor her memory.
Yet, de la Fuente made a conscious decision to skip Thanksgiving this year. Instead, she spent the holiday helping survivors of California’s devastating Camp Fire.
As a volunteer for the American Red Cross, de la Fuente registered shelter residents at the Butte County Fairgrounds and loaded supplies… for two exhausting weeks.
And when an elderly woman whose oxygen tank was malfunctioning grabbed de la Fuente and begged her, “Please, don’t leave me,” she knew just what to say.
“I put my hand on top of hers and told her, ‘I’m not going anywhere,’” de la Fuente remembered.
“What I do might not change the world,” de la Fuente said, “but at least one person’s world will be changed.”
However, it’s volunteers like de la Fuente who are changed the most in these moments.
While being the recipient of a gift — be it a holiday bonus, new computer, or glitter macaroni necklace your kindergartner made just for you — feels awesome, research shows it truly is better to give than receive.
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