Thanksgiving started when the original pilgrims decided to have a feast after celebrating their one-year anniversary of moving to America, and they invited the Native Americans who helped them throughout the year as a way of saying thank you.

In today’s culture, we tend to associate Thanksgiving with very different things than the people did during the first Thanksgiving in 1621, with things like football games and Black Friday shopping.

With the Thanksgiving season quickly approaching, it is easy to get caught up in the festivities, not to mention the delicious food. While the idea of spending time with family and friends is still a prevalent aspect of Thanksgiving in the modern era, the idea of actually taking time to be thankful for what we have, is not.

Recently I joined the Outreach Club, a branch of the organization Outreach, Inc., which reaches out to homeless and at-risk teenagers in Indianapolis. Through the club, we have been able to tour a drop-in center, which acts as a shelter for the teens, and provides them with meals and laundry services. Along with helping them out in a physical sense, they lend a hand to teens by helping them earn their General Education Diploma (GED). As a result, many high-risk teens go on to attend college and have a career.

Visiting the drop-in center really opened my eyes to the hardships and poverty that occur so close to home; I even learned that there are teens without a home that attend Carmel High School. It is not uncommon for some people to disregard the problems that others are facing in the nearby areas.

While many people, including myself, have been accustomed to donating and participating in relief fundraisers to places outside the United States, there is plenty of need for help within our own community.

By no means am I discouraging helping other nations; in fact, I’ve witnessed the poverty of a few African countries firsthand. However, it is important to remember that there are people in our country who are in need of just as much help as those who are poverty-stricken in developing countries.

According to the National Poverty Center (NPC), 15.1 percent of the American population, or 46 million people, lived in poverty in 2010, facing the hardships of hunger and uncertainty. This shocking statistic directly correlates with the message of giving back.

With all that being said, considering that it is the Thanksgiving season, there are many available opportunities to volunteer and donate to help benefit those in need. Now that the winter weather is quickly approaching, there are organizations here that help those who can’t afford winter coats, such as Hamilton County Kids Coats.

Food pantries and soup kitchens are always looking for volunteers too. Second Helpings is an organization in Indianapolis that acts as both a food pantry and a soup kitchen. According to secondhelpings.org, Second Helpings relies on volunteers that “donate their time, food and money to fight poverty and hunger in central Indiana.”

In today’s society, it is easy to get wrapped up in the materialistic aspects of this season. However, we must remember what is truly important this Thanksgiving—be thankful for all the things you have and give to those who may not be as fortunate as you are. To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, I encourage you not only to give thanks, but also to give back.