Our youth and family nonprofit theatre is doing the musical Annie with a cast and crew of about 100, mostly children. Yesterday we had a two-show day with limited time for kids to rest and eat in between.
A parent offered to set up catering to be delivered for anyone who didn’t want to or couldn’t leave the site, and asked that anybody who was interested contribute a small amount to the cost. A few parents started asking if they could pay for other families who might not be able to contribute, and put in extra.
The whole cast was fed. There was food left over. Very few families left to get food or brought food from home because there was an abundance. Kids got seconds. Kids got seconds of dessert.
It’s been said a million times, but people balk at the idea of socialism and taxation and “paying for freeloaders” because we’re devoid of community and isolated. Nobody feared “paying for freeloaders” because those freeloaders aren’t faceless, they’re kids who go on playdates with your own children, or families who offered your child a ride when your car broke down. If we could think about other people as members of our community instead of faceless, we would be more generous and sharing almost instantly.
