Gabriel's Christmas Stocking Project is inspired by our son, Gabriel Sloan Franini, who sadly grew his angel wings on July 19th, 2012.
Though his death has left us broken-hearted, we don't want to be thought of as a family devastated by loss, but rather as a family whose lives have been enriched by love. A precious member of our family may be physically missing, but he is with us in spirit and continues to inspire us in countless ways. Gabriel has taught us that every life is important and that every person has the potential to make a difference in the world, no matter how brief their life is.
Though his death has left us broken-hearted, we don't want to be thought of as a family devastated by loss, but rather as a family whose lives have been enriched by love. A precious member of our family may be physically missing, but he is with us in spirit and continues to inspire us in countless ways. Gabriel has taught us that every life is important and that every person has the potential to make a difference in the world, no matter how brief their life is.
This year for Christmas we would like to do something special to remember Gabriel and to honor his beautiful life.
This year we had a stocking knitted for Gabriel. Instead of filling it with toys and presents, we have started this project in hopes of filling it with kindness.
We are asking all of our friends and family to help us.
All you have to do is commit one random act of kindness inspired by Gabriel. If you want to, you can share the reason for your act of kindness with the recipient and ask them to pay it forward. In this way, you will be inspiring a series of random acts of kindness in Gabriel's memory.
Everyone is welcome to participate!
Here is how to do so:
1. It's simple. Sometime between now and Christmas Eve, do something kind for one person...a family member, friend, co-worker or even a stranger. It doesn't have to cost any money or take very much time. It can be something as simple as holding the elevator door or helping out with house chores or anything else you feel inspired to do, as long as it's done with a kind heart. We just ask that you dedicate your act of kindness to Gabriel. (For a list of ideas, please click here.)
2. Please e-mail us (by December 24th) at
GabrielsChristmasStocking@gmail.com and tell us about your random act of kindness. Please also include your location: city, state and/or country. If you prefer, you can write down your act of kindness and mail it to us.
3. Please help us to spread the word! We can only reach a certain amount of people ourselves, so we're really relying on others to help us. Feel free to share this website, our email address and Gabriel's story with others. We are really hoping to be able to fill his special stocking with as much kindness as possible.
~On Christmas Eve, we will print out everyone's emails. Without reading them, we'll add each one to Gabriel's stocking and on Christmas morning, we'll read them together as a family.~
~On Christmas Eve, we will print out everyone's emails. Without reading them, we'll add each one to Gabriel's stocking and on Christmas morning, we'll read them together as a family.~
Thank you to everyone for participating! It means so much to us to know that Gabriel has inspired kindness and that he has helped to make the world a better place, especially during the holiday season.
May you and your loved ones be safe this Christmas.
Happy Holidays!
Love,
Catherine and Corrado
