# 18: Give more to Charity than I really should or really can afford

I am so glad I put this one on here... It made me think about people who are less fortunate than I am and it really made an impact on me!

One thing that is extremely important to Travis and I is education. Both of us have our Master's Degrees and plan on encouraging our future family to continue their education as well. So, when an opportunity came up to be able to donate money for education - we jumped at the chance.

Because of legislation this year - the budget for UVU was cut tremendously. The part that hurt the worst, was scholarships for financially struggling students. Because I teach in the behavioral sciences department - I was able to be a part of the First Annual Forgotten Carols Scholarship Gala. Michael Mclean sits on the advisory board for the School of Humanities and Social Science and volunteered to do a Forgotten Carols Scholarship Gala to encourage people to donate to the School for a good cause - but also giving them something in return.

Way back in September, Travis and I paid a rather hefty sum of money for two tickets to the Forgotten Carols through the Scholarship Fundraiser. On December 2nd, we attended the Gala to celebrate the Scholarship Recipients. Over 35 students applied for the scholarship, and two students were fortunate enough to receive a scholarship. One received a full scholarship, and the other a half scholarship. We are talking tuition, fees, books, living expenses, etc. As we met the two students, and had one at our table - both Travis and I felt truly blessed to be a part of this night!

As the Thank You for donating - we attended the Gala - were fed some super delicious good, met Michael Mclean, received a copy of the Forgotten Carols on CD with him reading the book and the music (which he autographed), and 2 VIP tickets to the show. Yes, the benefits were nice - but meeting the students (both of whom were behavioral science students) and seeing how grateful they were for a chance to continue their education was seriously amazing!

Because this is an annual thing - Travis and I will be attending each year. Well, we will be donating each year - I may be attending with a friend because Travis doesn't like the cheese factor of the Forgotten Carols... I, on the other hand, LOVE it - and it will have a special place in my heart now knowing that students at UVU will be able to have the financial means to continue their education.