I often use this corner of page two in the Peabody Gazette-Bulletin to encourage you all to step up to the plate during the holidays and offer some help to the many organizations in Peabody that do good work all year around. Many of you do just that. And many of you would do it whether I was yammering about it or not.

Still, I think we all need to realize that anymore our tax dollars don’t go as far as we would hope they would, and many families and individuals are struggling in our community. Services that government organizations used to provide are now being provided by volunteers. There also are organizations that could just use a helping hand and need you to donate a few hours every now and then.

Helping out is not just about writing a check.

I was reminded of this when I typed Ruth Lott’s information about Peabody Senior Center this week. She asked for people with special talents or interests to consider sharing with the group that meets daily at the senior center. I expect the same request could come from the schools, Westview Manor, and Peabody Care Center. We have Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops who could use some volunteers to help with badge requirements. Volunteers work with Partners of Peabody Parks to plant and maintain our public areas.

I read somewhere that Peabody Historical Society will be having a “clean the museum day” this spring. Usually there is a cleanup day to get the winter sludge out of the Walnut Street gutters from Ninth Street to Santa Fe Park. The same kind of work could be done on other streets, in the library, or around the playground area at the park. There are elderly individuals who have a tough time keeping up with yard work, painting, or emptying a garage or shed.

Helping out is not just about writing a check.

Peabody Main Street will host another Operation Celebration to honor our veterans during Memorial Day weekend. The celebration can use dozens of volunteers to serve food, man the information booths, and sell merchandise. PMSA would love to have you volunteer.

The same holds true for the Fourth Fest Committee. Soon they will be rounding up people to be in the parade, to work the gates, judge the dog show and the car show, supervise kids’ games, and build and shoot the fireworks at the grand finale.

Do you feel tired yet? Imagine how the people feel who volunteer with these groups or at these events all the time and wish they had more help.

Helping out is not just about writing a check. It is not just about doing something during the holiday season. This is your community and mine. It is up to all of us to lend a helping hand. If you are lucky enough to be in the group that can write a check and you do, we thank you! Your donations lift our spirits and give us cause to have faith in our neighbors.

If you can’t, but can be a volunteer, then you also lift our spirits and give us cause to have faith. Please consider lending a hand.

— SUSAN MARSHALL