Thanksgiving at Hissho
As the summer swept by like a kite on steroids, we find ourselves in the midst of autumn with Christmas lights up outside already, the tree in place in our reception area, and bits of ornamentation around the office.  But before we dive headlong into Christmas, we paused  just long enough to give Thanksgiving its due.
Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year, mainly because it’s not fraught with pure commercialism.  It’s a time for reflection, and giving thought to what we have and appreciate the gifts given by God each and every day.  Thinking back on how Thanksgiving began, with the Pilgrims and Native American Indians coming together and sharing what they had, to create a meal to give thanks for all that had happened leading up to that moment.
It’s the same today, just in a different environment and over 500 years later.  That we can share, love, and laugh together are the things that make life meaningful.  We at Hissho are so grateful for our teams around the country who make us proud, our staff who share the same mission, and a CEO who leads by example.  We are truly blessed, and stopping to acknowledge this is paramount to our continuing success.
Each year we celebrate Thanksgiving by sharing a delicious meal together.  Some years we prepare everything ourselves, some years we have it catered, and for the past two, our generous CEO has treated us all.  This is so appreciated in that all we had to do was show up, eat up, and clean up.  Seems so simple until we remember who made it happen.  In pausing to give thanks to the ones who prepared it, the one who paid for it, and the teams who cleaned up, our gratefulness became boundless.
Thanksgiving is now in the rear view mirror, but should always be in the periphery.  We at Hissho hope yours was wonderful, and we’re sure it was if you had a platter of our delicious sushi to share.  If not, be sure to order your platters for the Christmas holidays and New Year’s.

Hissho reached out to recent refugees from Myanmar (Burma) by providing them with Hissho Rice, and hygiene items purchased from the Core Values budget.  When refugees immigrate to America, they are often left to fend for themselves after only a few short weeks.  Imagine if you didn’t know the language, didn’t have transportation, and were “thrown” into a totally new environment, where all you had was a few others in the same boat.
Lost in a sea of loneliness, 23 senior refugees came together to join forces to show a unified front.  This meeting was in the home of another settled immigrant from Myanmar, who graciously offered his home for this meeting.  Young people in the community also came to help out by doing the translating, serving the delicious homemade chicken and rice soup prepared just for this occasion, and even showing the elderly how to use nail clippers.  If you’d never seen a nail clipper, would you know what it was, or how to use it?
With essentials that we often take for granted: toilet paper, towels and wash cloths, bars of soap, small zip-lock bags filled with hotel amenities collected over time by a Hissho co-worker, and, of course, the nail clippers were all eagerly and gratefully received by each person who sat and waited so patiently for their name to be called.  The 50 pound bags of rice looked bigger than many of the ones who came to “collect.”  Strong young men carried it to the cars of those who volunteered to transport our guests.
After the distributions were made, we all sat together to enjoy the thick, fragrant, healthy, chicken and rice soup.  I can honestly say it’s the absolute best chicken and rice soup I’ve ever had.  It was probably the fact that the 6 chickens used were purchased by two Burmese Hissho co-workers from a Burmese farmer, and donated to the cause. Totally natural: no hormones, no cages!  The few hours our Hissho staff spent doing these small things, were overwhelmingly beneficial for all who were there.
Many times, we need only look around our immediate vicinity to see dire needs, and if you can help make a difference, please do.

Hisshonians celebrate Christmas morning at Rescue Mission!  With 70^o F weather outside, and the sun shining, it seemed more like spring than Christmas Day in December.  Nine of our team gathered in the kitchen to help prepare the lunch for residents, guests, and family for the 11:30 AM meal.

Our CEO Philip Maung brought his wife and two sons to join in, and the daughter of another co-worker, filled the ranks to cut and place desserts, prepare rolls for warming, and any other duties assigned.
While we manned the kitchen, an army of other volunteers donned black bow ties on white shirts, with black slacks, to individually serve each guests as if they were in an expensive establishment.  Director Tony Marciano says Charlotte is the only facility of its kind in the country that has the volunteers wear a black tie.  In turn, Marciano says “that the guests not only come for the meal, but for the conversation, and are so appreciative that they are treated as an equal, and not a homeless person.”
Usually Hissho volunteers on Thanksgiving and Easter, but this year we added Christmas!  What a wonderful way to give back to the community.  We have been blessed to be a part of such a great organization as Rescue Mission.

Hissho has a strong tradition of giving back to the community and Thanksgiving Day is no exception.  Some of our Hissho team, who were not out of town or with family, volunteered in the morning at the Charlotte Rescue Mission, in the kitchen.  We love going there and sharing camaraderie with the entire kitchen team.  It’s like family when we go there!  The people we help prepare food for are wonderful individuals who always appreciate what is offered.  Smiles abounded all day as Rescue Mission served over 1,200 throughout the day.

Our awesome volunteers at Hissho brought a lot of smiles today!

Through donations raised by our Hisshonians, we purchased sandwiches, chips, fruit, cookies and water, and assembled “brown-bag” lunches and distributed them at Crisis Assistance Ministry here in Charlotte, N.C. (Check them out here! http://www.crisisassistance.org/)

The gratefulness and appreciation shown by the recipients was significant and heartwarming. Thank you to all of our Hisshonians for your support and dedication in giving back to the community!

It seems a leprechaun left a huge pot of gold at Hissho this month! But, this pot of gold is EXTRA special!

Those shamrocks you see are actually donations from our humble Hisshonians! For the past two weeks, we’ve asked our Hisshonians to donate however much they’d like to go towards buying lunch for those in need.

We’ll purchase sandwiches, chips, fruit and water, and our awesome volunteers will assemble “brown-bag” lunches and distribute them at Crisis Assistance Ministry here in Charlotte, N.C. (By the way, if you’re local and want to see how you can volunteer with this great organization, click here: http://www.crisisassistance.org/)
Stay tuned for more on this project!! And we want to know: how are YOU bringing a little luck to someone?!