I just returned from a business conference with some of my FBLA students. This year’s keynote speaker, Cary Trivanovich, had a very short and yet very different message compared to all the speakers I’ve heard speak at these conferences in the past, and there couldn’t have been any better time for the students to hear it. Most speakers seem to focus on improving yourself or motivating you to succeed.

The final words of his speech, “It is not about you.”

This post isn’t about the conference or my students, though. Rather, it’s about the people who have taken these words in order to better the lives of others. Every year, we take one day to celebrate and give thanks. For many, this means family, a huge meal, or maybe just a day off from work and school. But I want to recognize the ones who make the day about others.

We Give Thanks Foundation

Five years ago, Thanksgiving Day, I went out to volunteer in the parking lot of La Casa Garcia Restaurant in Anaheim to serve a Thanksgiving meal to those less fortunate. When I arrived, I was surprised not only at the number of families enjoying festivities, but I was surprised by large number of volunteers — so many that my help was not needed.

Frank Garcia, restaurant owner and founder of the We Give Thanks Foundation, has been serving families a free meal for Thanksgiving for over 20 years. The number of attendees has grown so large that the location has moved from the restaurant parking lot to the Honda Center and serves over 20,000 people with over 1,500 volunteers.

If you have more stories, people, or organizations that you want to acknowledge, regardless of being about Thanksgiving or not, please let me know, justin[at]vitaminoc[dot]com. I would love to add them to this post. Even though this Thursday is Thanksgiving, giving thanks and remembering that it is not always about ourselves should be something we remember every day.