In this holiday weekend of Thanksgiving, and as we head into the annual season of giving and receiving, we asked several community leaders to reflect on what, really, there is to be thankful for.

Here are their messages of thanks and of hope.

A Chinese proverb says, "One who secures the good of others has secured one’s own." It’s a truth that is almost hard to recognize due to life’s many challenges but still, there can be found a lot to be thankful for this time of the year.

There is one in particular I am so thankful for: the donors. My life was changed for the best years ago when I gave out one blanket to a person sleeping on a bus stop bench. Since that encounter, I have been fortunate to meet and work together with hundreds and have seen thousands of these givers in our community in action.

Whatever the issues may be, whether it’s cancer research or hunger, terrorism or simply keeping the peace on our local streets, there are people giving their lives unconditionally so that others may live. Of course, homelessness, a monstrosity of a human condition, is right smack in the middle of all these issues. It, too, has its share of donors.

Lately, there have been many programs that serve the poor whose budget have been cut due to lack of funding. The local unemployment numbers have been the highest in years and the demand for food has increased tremendously.

And though the latest reports on the number of homeless seeking and utilizing services tend to show progress, still there are men, women and children in the thousands who sleep on our sidewalks and streets every night. With little or no food and no place to call home.

When the work of helping others is sometimes filled with challenges and it seems there are no solutions or a way out, these givers inspire and encourage us with their gifts. At times, all they have to offer is a smile or a tap on the shoulder with the words, "it’s going to be OK." But even that, sometimes, is all one needs to get by. Their creativity and their can-do attitude is usually the solution that shows there is a way.

Many years ago we had just prepared hot food to be delivered to one of the local parks to feed the hungry. When the food was ready to be delivered, the vehicle was not. Our volunteers, who were houseless themselves, found a shopping cart and used it to push the food almost two miles to our serving spot and we were able to provide food to many hungry people that day.

But the story of an 8-year old girl who donated her year’s savings of $960 to build a play area for the children of the Next Step shelter has been one of my most inspiring stories.

Celia Kenny came to the shelter with her family and she handed me her savings in person. When I asked her if there was any specific way she wanted her money to be used, she said in her own unique way: "You decide." With her donation, we were able to build a much-needed play area for the children.

But Celia was not done yet.

Since that meeting, she has brought her school choir to sing Christmas carols every year at the shelter and I, in turn, have visited her school to talk about the issues of homelessness and collecting food via their annual food drives, which benefit our nonprofit Hawaii Helping the Hungry Have Hope (H-5) and the people we serve in this state.

We live in a state that is proud to give. We are a part of a culture that cultivates giving as part of its identity. We sought to encourage and to continue to teach and remind all people to give. I believe that giving is the foundation of life — without it, there is no creation.

Mahalo for giving. I am thankful for you.

Utu Langi is executive director of H-5 Hawaii, Helping the Hungry Have Hope. He recently ended his stint as director of the Next Step shelter in Kakaako to focus on the EVANS (Evening Angels) mobile shelter project in Kakaako that is home to 25 adults and children as well as a shuttle program for six shelters in Kalaeloa.