Looking ahead to holiday giving
I noticed the daily newspaper from that great big town south and west of us is encouraging charitable organizations to send in their wish lists for the coming holiday season. The newspaper prints the list every year in anticipation of holiday giving and it is time for them to do so once again. I think it is a grand gesture and I am going to copy them and do the same.
I am a big fan of local giving. Since local organizations are usually staffed by volunteers — our friends and neighbors, people that we know — the administrative costs tend to be just about nothing. Our donations go right to the people they will help the most. And they will stay in our communities to provide goods and services to local people.
I can't think of a better reason to adopt a local program and make it part of your annual holiday gifting! Have a family discussion and pick a local charity that all of you appreciate. It's never too early to get your children involved in helping others. Plant those seeds early and you will raise a conscientious child with an awareness of the world around him.
So here is the deal: if you are involved with a local charitable organization, send me the information. Let me know who you serve, what your needs are, and what your goal is for the coming holiday season or next year. If you carry a 501(c)3 designation making you tax-exempt, so much the better — let me know. By the same token there are groups who struggle to serve, but who do not have tax exempt status — libraries, the Christmas light fund, senior centers, and others. If you belong to such a group, send in your request.
I know that funding is the biggest need. However, if you can use "things" — a computer, a copy machine, vouchers for services or products, canned goods, whatever — tell me what is on your list. If you can use volunteers to read to children, to run errands for someone who is house-bound, or to provide bookkeeping skills, I can put out that information. Or if you belong to a group already planning a project, but you'd like the assistance of the community, let me know the scope of your plan.
Questions? Give me a call at the Peabody Gazette-Bulletin office or at home. Both numbers are in the book and both have answering machines.
I will set a deadline of Thanksgiving for you to send me the information. That ought to be easy enough to remember
Let's get giving.
— SUSAN MARSHALL
