Self-Realization Fellowship Blog

Holidays can strengthen our awareness of being part of a larger human family, and the joy that comes with that understanding inspires us to reach out to express our love and compassion through acts of kindness. In doing so we find our joy expanding through bonds of divine friendship.  

As Paramahansa Yogananda wrote, “To serve others — by identifying their necessities as one’s own and providing whatever one can in the way of material needs, psychological succor, or spiritual enlightenment — is wondrously expansive, uniting one’s consciousness with the lives and hearts of others.”

Self-Realization Fellowship temples, centers, and groups around the world aspire to embody this spirit of service throughout the year, and take the opportunity to participate in charitable giving during the holiday season.  

Here is a sampling of the activities some SRF temples and groups participated in during the holidays to be of service to others.  

Phoenix Temple  

The congregation of the Phoenix Temple held their annual Thanksgiving food drive, which benefits The Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Each Sunday in November members brought grocery bags filled with canned vegetables, boxed cereal, pasta, soup, beans, peanut butter, and various packaged items. The donations will help feed families in need in the Phoenix area.  

San Diego Temple

The congregation of the San Diego temple reached out to help others through two charitable organizations. For Thanksgiving, they held a food drive and collected 57 bags of groceries as well as monetary donations for Special Delivery, a neighborhood food bank that provides groceries (“love in a bag”) to those in need. SRF young adults helped collect food donations after temple services in November.

At Christmas, the temple’s toy drive benefited underprivileged children at Rodriguez Elementary School. Through purchased toys and donations, the temple members made sure toys were given to 100 children as well as gift cards for parents allowing them to buy gifts for non-school age children.  

Glendale Temple

Devotees at the Glendale Temple held a food drive for families in need and delivered more than 50 grocery bags to the Northeast Mental Health Center in Los Angeles. The congregation also raised money for a donation to Ascencia, a charity that provides housing and services to the homeless across Los Angeles County.

Hollywood Temple

At Thanksgiving, the Hollywood Temple partnered with Covenant House preparing care packages of personal items for youth facing homelessness in the Los Angeles area.  

The Hollywood Temple also had a Christmas Toy and Gift Drive to benefit children (from infants to teenagers) through two non-profit organizations, Hope Gardens Family Center (part of the Union Rescue Mission) and Alexandria House, both serving unhoused parents and their children in the Los Angeles area.

In total there were 350 children who received gifts, including clothes, toys, games, Bluetooth speakers (for the teenagers), and gift cards. 

Lake Shrine Temple

Lake Shrine Temple organizes an annual Christmas toy drive benefiting two Los Angeles County orphanages. Children submit a wish, and Lake Shrine temple members are invited to fulfill these wishes, serving about 100 children each year. Gifts range from dolls and down parkas to bicycles, skateboards, and sporting equipment. Temple volunteers purchase and wrap about 30% of the toys, which are picked up by the County. The other 70% are purchased by gift donors through a program offered by Amazon, who wrap and ship the gifts directly.  

This year the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services sent a certificate of appreciation to the Lake Shrine minister-in-charge. “In honor of Faith Leader Appreciation Month, and in recognition of your community work in Los Angeles County and collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services in providing services and resources to children, youth, and families.” 

Bay Area Temple  

Throughout the past year the Bay Area Temple collected food donations and delivered them every three months to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties. With an annual donation of about 560 pounds, the food went to individuals and local nonprofits in need. 

Encinitas Temple

The Encinitas Temple held its sixth annual Holiday Drive and collected items used to assemble backpacks filled with winter essentials such as blankets, flashlights, toiletries, and other essential items, along with cash and gift cards, for donation to the Community Resource Center (CRC). Established in 1979, the CRC provides not only basic needs for low-income and episodically homeless families but also programs to help them attain greater stability and self-sufficiency. 

Fullerton Temple

Fullerton Temple held holiday food and toy drives with members donating hundreds of pounds of Thanksgiving staples to the Pathways of Hope pantry and contributing to their Christmas toy and gift card drive for local children and families. 

New York City Center

This year, SRF members at the New York City Center coordinated a Holiday Food Drive from November to mid-December to benefit City Harvest, a nonprofit that distributes food to families in need. 

Atlanta Center

This Christmas season, the Atlanta Center joined Clark’s Christmas Kids in giving toys and gifts to children in foster care. For 34 years, Clark’s Christmas Kids has had the mission of ensuring that every child in the Georgia foster care system has at least one gift on Christmas day. SRF members at the Atlanta Center gave gifts online through the charity’s website, brought toys to the center for distribution, and made monetary donations. 

Los Gatos Center

The Los Gatos Center held a gift drive this year, supporting teens as part of the Family Giving Tree’s annual Holiday Wish Drive. Family Giving Tree is a Bay Area non-profit group that organizes the annual gift drive and distributes the donated gifts to those in need. Since 1990, they have served over two million recipients.  

May we all know the joy of helping others — during holiday seasons and throughout the year!  

For inspiration on the subject of giving to others you can watch a video talk by SRF minister Brother Bhumananda on giving to others without expecting anything in return — and how it brings joy and comfort not only to the receiver but also to the giver.  

Watch “Is Sharing and Selflessness a Part of Your Daily Life?”