Six Tales of Christmas | Indecisive Zero's

Speaker: 00:00:02

This is Journey with Care, the official podcast of Care

Speaker: 00:00:05

Impact. Johan here, and today, I will be your

Speaker: 00:00:09

guide. Welcome to the special series of Care Impact

Speaker: 00:00:13

Christmas, where we celebrate the joy of the Christmas season.

Speaker: 00:00:18

As the snow falls outside and the warmth of the holiday spirit fills

Speaker: 00:00:22

our hearts, we invite you to gather your closest loved ones,

Speaker: 00:00:26

your kids, grandkids, friends, or family. Get cozy

Speaker: 00:00:30

by the fire or snuggle up with a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa

Speaker: 00:00:34

and get ready for something truly special. Today, we invite

Speaker: 00:00:38

you to journey with us through a series of short stories that capture the

Speaker: 00:00:41

essence of Christmas. These tales are filled with

Speaker: 00:00:45

warmth, care, and loving generosity.

Speaker: 00:00:49

So take a sip of that rich hot cocoa, nestle into your

Speaker: 00:00:52

favorite spot, and let the glow of the firelight or simply of your

Speaker: 00:00:56

Bluetooth speaker bring our stories to life.

Speaker: 00:01:04

Welcome back to 6 Tales of Christmas, where stories

Speaker: 00:01:08

of compassion and opportunities for impact take center stage.

Speaker: 00:01:13

Today, get ready for our final tale of the year, one that

Speaker: 00:01:16

brings a whole new appreciation and love for the number 0.

Speaker: 00:01:20

So get cozy, grab a cup of hot cocoa, and listen

Speaker: 00:01:24

in about the tale of the indecisive zeros, but don't

Speaker: 00:01:28

let their nickname fool you. By the end of this story, the zeros

Speaker: 00:01:31

might just surprise

Speaker: 00:01:38

you. Once upon a time, in the bustling numeria, the land of

Speaker: 00:01:42

numbers, there lived a small cluster of zeros.

Speaker: 00:01:46

They weren't like any other numbers. They seemed smaller, see

Speaker: 00:01:49

through. They weren't even there. They weren't so

Speaker: 00:01:53

impressive and confident like the ones, who were always busy leading

Speaker: 00:01:56

the way, 1st place winners with gold trophies,

Speaker: 00:02:00

or those fives who liked being in a place of prominence, giving high fives

Speaker: 00:02:04

or 5 star reviews, and tens while they

Speaker: 00:02:08

were always looking so important and big everywhere they went.

Speaker: 00:02:12

10 out of 10, the 10 commandments. But the little

Speaker: 00:02:15

zeros, they didn't quite know where they fit feeling

Speaker: 00:02:19

like they had zero importance and zero impact.

Speaker: 00:02:23

Why were they even there? Could they really make a

Speaker: 00:02:26

difference?

Speaker: 00:02:31

Woah. Well, like It was New Year's

Speaker: 00:02:34

Eve, the favorite time of year in numeria.

Speaker: 00:02:38

People loved numbers on this special day and would come down to the great

Speaker: 00:02:42

giving square, picking which numbers to give to the

Speaker: 00:02:45

causes they cared about, swiping and tapping the phones to get their

Speaker: 00:02:49

numbers supporting some pretty amazing non profits. And

Speaker: 00:02:53

when it got close to midnight, the crowds would count down all the

Speaker: 00:02:56

numbers with cheers and enthusiasm. 9, 8, 8,

Speaker: 00:03:00

9, 1, 3, 2, 1. 9, 8, 8,

Speaker: 00:03:04

9, 4, 3, 2, 1,

Speaker: 00:03:09

8.

Speaker: 00:03:14

All the numbers that is, except 0.

Speaker: 00:03:19

The cluster of zeros stood there to the side, feeling indecisive of

Speaker: 00:03:23

what to do. I mean, no one even shouted out their

Speaker: 00:03:26

number for the New Year's countdown. And what could a 0

Speaker: 00:03:30

do for charitable causes? Zilch,

Speaker: 00:03:34

or so they thought.

Speaker: 00:03:41

The 0 stood there on the edge of the square, fidgeting their hands

Speaker: 00:03:44

nervously in their empty pockets. Should we even be

Speaker: 00:03:48

here? They couldn't decide. Why

Speaker: 00:03:52

so glum? Asked 7, juggling donations like a

Speaker: 00:03:55

pro. We just don't know where we fit, said

Speaker: 00:03:59

one of the zeros. We're not like you or 10

Speaker: 00:04:03

or any of you, really. We're we're nothing.

Speaker: 00:04:07

7 chuckled. Oh, little zeros, don't you

Speaker: 00:04:11

see? Together, you're the secret to turning something

Speaker: 00:04:14

small into something great. Stand next to 1

Speaker: 00:04:18

and you'll make it 10. Join 10 and you're

Speaker: 00:04:22

a 100. Go in clusters and you can make me

Speaker: 00:04:26

and 5 become 75,000.

Speaker: 00:04:30

You're not nothing, you're potential. With that,

Speaker: 00:04:34

7 went right into the middle of the Great Giving Square where the band was

Speaker: 00:04:38

playing musical numbers and grabbed a microphone.

Speaker: 00:04:42

Hey, hey. Can I have everyone's attention? We

Speaker: 00:04:46

have a cluster of zeros here in our land and really need to

Speaker: 00:04:50

be included in our celebrations. So as you pick your numbers

Speaker: 00:04:53

to donate for causes you care about, think about adding

Speaker: 00:04:57

zeros to your year end generosity. Zeros can help

Speaker: 00:05:00

transform the community. The cluster of

Speaker: 00:05:04

zeros blushed as donors and digits started looking their way and

Speaker: 00:05:08

inviting them to join in. Some donors were bold,

Speaker: 00:05:12

adding lots of zeros without hesitation. Others were

Speaker: 00:05:15

careful, adding just 1 or 2. But whether a single

Speaker: 00:05:19

0 or a cluster of zeros were chosen, something amazing

Speaker: 00:05:23

began to happen. The more zeros that were added,

Speaker: 00:05:26

the more these donations were transforming the community.

Speaker: 00:05:30

Hundreds of families were cared for in the Canadian cities rather than handfuls.

Speaker: 00:05:35

Thousands more people were impacted by hearing impactful stories through

Speaker: 00:05:39

podcasts. Now more and more cities were being supported with

Speaker: 00:05:42

training and technology to care for more people in hard places.

Speaker: 00:05:47

Lives are being changed and more impact was being created.

Speaker: 00:05:51

And the curious thing is, the more people cheerfully gave with

Speaker: 00:05:55

generosity, the more there was to give.

Speaker: 00:05:58

Zeros were transforming the community.

Speaker: 00:06:06

And so the indecisive zeros found their purpose and the

Speaker: 00:06:10

exponential power that they held. This year, as we

Speaker: 00:06:13

wrap up our journey together, we invite you to do the same.

Speaker: 00:06:18

Choose your zeros. Surprise us with your zeros, and we'll

Speaker: 00:06:22

surprise you how much impact your giving makes. And

Speaker: 00:06:26

you might just be surprised by how much god surprises you

Speaker: 00:06:29

with joy in giving. Year end giving isn't just about

Speaker: 00:06:33

numbers on a page. It's about building a generous

Speaker: 00:06:37

legacy of compassion and realizing what really

Speaker: 00:06:40

matters. So what will your story be? Will

Speaker: 00:06:44

you step up into the giving square and add a 0?

Speaker: 00:06:48

Remember, zeros you choose today will shape the true

Speaker: 00:06:52

stories of tomorrow. Here's to 0 and here's

Speaker: 00:06:55

to you. Let's end the year with generosity

Speaker: 00:06:59

that's anything but indecisive. Until next time,

Speaker: 00:07:02

keep caring, keep giving, and keep choosing

Speaker: 00:07:06

your zeroes.

Speaker: 00:07:11

As we wrap up 2024, I wanna thank you, our dear Journey with

Speaker: 00:07:15

Care Sojourners, for being part of this amazing community of honest

Speaker: 00:07:19

storytelling and curious truth seeking. Thank you for investing in

Speaker: 00:07:23

the Ministry of Care Impact so the communities across Canada can flourish.

Speaker: 00:07:27

Will you join us in creating greater impact? We invite you to

Speaker: 00:07:31

choose your zeros when you go to careimpact.ca/

Speaker: 00:07:34

donate. Maybe you have a number in mind or maybe a

Speaker: 00:07:38

financial adviser would suggest what would wisely save you tax

Speaker: 00:07:42

dollars, or maybe you've never even considered

Speaker: 00:07:45

giving to Carry Impact until now. Let's not be like indecisive

Speaker: 00:07:49

zeros who feel like we have nothing to give and can't imagine making a

Speaker: 00:07:53

difference. Whether it's a little or a lot, you can give and you

Speaker: 00:07:57

can make an incredible difference in the lives who need

Speaker: 00:08:00

your timely support through our ministry. Know that today is a

Speaker: 00:08:04

great day to give. Not only does your generosity change lives,

Speaker: 00:08:08

but every dollar is matched until New Year's Eve midnight.

Speaker: 00:08:12

Surprise us with your zeros, and we'll surprise you with how much impact your

Speaker: 00:08:16

giving makes. God might surprise you with a lot of joy as

Speaker: 00:08:19

well. Let's end this year with zeros that can change the world

Speaker: 00:08:23

at at careimpact.ca/ donate. Wishing you

Speaker: 00:08:27

a very Merry Christmas, and we look forward to a happy new year

Speaker: 00:08:31

with you as we journey together through an exciting new podcast

Speaker: 00:08:35

season throughout 2025. Until next time,

Speaker: 00:08:38

keep caring, keep giving, and keep choosing your zeroes

Speaker: 00:08:42

quickly before New Year's Eve countdown at impact.ca/donate.