Are you starting your holiday shopping? How about giving the gift of volunteerism?

Have you started your holiday shopping? It's a little over a month before the holiday and by looking at the traffic to the mall, the holiday shopping has already began for some.

If you are like me, you will be browsing the web to look for the best holiday gift idea. Looking at what is new for the techies on our list, what is suitable for kids and teanagers, and so forth. The other day when buying a birthday gift for a six years old girl, I learned the "new" thing for them is Lalalopsy(www.lalalopsy.com). I had Barbie and all the Disney princess characters in mind when I walked into the shop!

So,I guess we can say that finding the perfect gift is never easy. But magically I think I found the answer to the perfect gift this holiday season. It occurred to me yesterday as I was walking into Jazzman's Cafe & Bakery at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Burlington. Joseph Magaletta, a Lahey volunteer, was cleaning the condiment station and he was doing it with a smile. I approached Joseph and told him that he is doing a great job. He thanked me and told me he is glad to be able to help. He had a big grin on his face! Joseph volunteers twice a week at Lahey as he is still in school. According to Joe, he enjoys volunteering in the Food and Nutrition department as everyone is nice to him and he can makes a lot of friends while helping others.

When I walked further down the hallway, I saw Mrs. Aenea Holland, a long time volunteer. Aenea worked at Lahey for more than 22 years before retiring in 2006. According to Mrs.Aenea, she was looking for ways to fill her time and also to give back. Her volunteering journey began when she volunteered to sell Angel ribbons at the 2009 Lahey Cancer Walk. Seeing how successful her Angel was at the event, she decided to continue her "Angel" journey. Nowadays, she volunteers twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays from 830am-1pm and all the proceeds go to the Sophia Gordon Cancer Center at Lahey. When I asked Mrs. Aenea apart from being able to contribute to the cancer center,what are some other reasons that make her continue her volunteerism journey. She told me, the biggest gift she found from her "Angel" is the ability to provide moral support to others. A lot of patients stop by to tell her stories of how much her "Angel" touches them and has helped them and their love ones through striving time. I told Mrs. Aenea I have experiened it firsthand as I too always stopped by and bought some of her "Angels" as a gift for colleagues and patients that may need a little "angel miracle" from Aenea.

After the above reflections, I realized the best gift you can give to anyone is the spirit of volunteerism. So, this year before you start accumulating your credit card bills or pulling your hair thinking about the best present, consider the gift of volunteerism.

You can volunteer at any non-profit organization that is near you and send a card with a picture of yourself volunteering. You could include a nice note such as "I am volunteering on your behalf, as I want to give you the best present one could ever give. Happy Holidays!"

I bet it will bring a smile and a warm thought to anyone who receives it.

Let's hear from Joseph and Aenea in the following video: