As the bumper sticker says, “If you’re not mad, you’re not paying attention.” I’ll add “sad” to that as well after reading today’s local paper about families in need in the Durham area this holiday season. Here are a few excerpts:
DURHAM — This family has an extremely limited income. Share your Christmas with this mother of three with clothing, toys and household and personal items.
Suggestions include large Lego blocks, a football, a basketball, a remote-controlled car and some new bath towels. This is case 432 in the Share Your Christmas program.
More than 4,000 people in Durham need help this holiday season.
The Share Your Christmas staff is asking for Herald-Sun readers’ help. To be matched with a family or individual, call Share Your Christmas at (919) 680-0140 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, through Dec. 18. Staff and volunteers are manning the phones and will be happy to provide more details about the program and match callers with a family in need.
Sponsors are asked to spend at least $50 on new gifts for each member of the family or families they agree to assist. The sponsors may deliver the gifts directly to the families or deliver the wrapped gifts to DSS and a social worker will deliver them on the sponsor’s behalf.
Those who do not have time to shop but still want to help brighten the holidays for these families can make cash donations online at www.thevolunteercenter.org, or by check made payable to Share Your Christmas and sent to the Volunteer Center of Durham at 136 E. Chapel Hill St., Durham, NC 27701.
The sponsors of Share Your Christmas — the Durham County Department of Social Services, Volunteer Center of Durham and The Herald-Sun — donate the administrative costs of the program.
Even if you only have a few bucks to spare (and many of us do), please help transform “mad and sad” to “glad” this season by making a donation to this worthy cause. If you’re one of my students or alums, tell ‘em Wake Forest University sent you.
Aneil Mishra
Living in Durham, Working in Winston-Salem, Remembering to be grateful
Filed under: Trust, Trustworthy Charities | Tagged: Christmas, durham north carolina, giving, helping others, John McCann, philanthropy
Great post!
I operate a site where we help out people who have become victims of counterfeit check/money order scams and fraud. Every year we try to find ways to make the holiday season a little happier for these people, usually by collecting toys for the children of these victims.
Shawn Mosch
Co-Founder of ScamVictimsUnited.com