This Christmas, Give Peace & Good Will Toward Men

There was an interesting article in today's Sun-Times about how many non-profit organizations find themselves in a strange predicament: they have too many volunteers.

Around the holidays, many people's most generous side comes out and it seems they all want to work in soup kitchens or at homeless shelters. This overabundance of volunteers is also buttressed by the fact that we have a 10% national unemployment rate. Many people who are unemployed seek to fill their time by volunteering.

Unfortunately, this glut of volunteers is not a year-round problem. During other times of the year, there is a severe shortage of volunteers.

Because Little Merry Sunshine believes strongly in giving back and volunteering, I thought it would be helpful to suggest some alternative volunteer opportunities that are readily available and could use your help right now:

• Donate blood. LifeSource and other blood donation centers always need extra blood.
• Food pantries. Call your local food pantry and see what their greatest need is. Many food pantries also take personal care items (deodorant, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, diapers, etc.). These donations are vital because food stamps cannot be used to purchase these items, which can be quite costly. Don't forget that pets are family too and there are food pantries set up for pets.
• Donate gently used clothing to a local resale shop.
• Before Santa brings your kids a new bounty of toys, why not get them into the spirit of sharing the wealth by donating some of their gently used toys to resale shops.
• Toys for Tots accepts new, unwrapped toys and books.
• Call your local school and see what items they need. I'm sure they all have a wish list.
• Check out the website for the Random Acts of Kindness Club. They always have fun and easy ways to make a difference in the community.
• Call your city or township hall and see if they offer Adopt-a-Family programs where you can sponsor Christmas gifts for the entire family.
• Check with the post office for letters to Santa from kids who are especially needy this year. Fulfill their Christmas wishes.
  
• Ask your church secretary about members who need rides to church or are alone during the holidays. Drive them to church or invite them over for Christmas dinner. It's what Jesus would do. Have a goal at your church that no member is alone on Christmas.
• Take a tray of cookies over to your local police department and/or fire department to thank them for their never-ending hard work all year long. You may not see them doing their jobs, but that's kind of the point. Trust me, they are there when you need them and they work all the holidays.
• Drop some change in a Salvation Army kettle.

If these ideas don't resonate with you, look around your neighborhood. There are plenty of opportunities to make the world better right your own backyard.

• Shovel an elderly neighbor's driveway - for free, of course.
• Are the sidewalks at the corners clear and free of snow piles at the curb for the kids walking to school? Those snow piles from the snow plows become a danger when they turn to ice and the kids have to climb them to climb the street.
• Shovel your own driveway and sidewalks. This helps kids, the postman, people walking dogs, the elderly walking for fresh air, runners, mom's walking little kids and more.
  
• Is there a neighbor who still isn't quite ready for winter and you could offer to help them with their fall clean-up?
• Do you have a neighbor you know is struggling? Maybe someone has lost a job. What if you anonymously sent them a gift card to the local grocery store or purchased tickets to the local movie theater for the family?
• Do you know someone struggling after losing a loved one this year? Reach out to them. Don't be freaked out if they cry. The holidays are difficult.
  
• Do you know a single mom (or dad) without family in the area? Invite her and her kids to spend Christmas day with you. Offer to take her kids for an afternoon to give her a break and so she can have some personal time.
  
• Nursing home residents need love too. Call a local nursing home and find out if there are residents without regular visitors. Go read to them. If they're able, let them tell you their stories. They love the trips down Memory Lane and visitors keep their spirits up. Just remember to be 100% healthy when you visit. Their immune systems are probably not as strong as yours.
  

Don't forget your own family. Charity begins at home, after all. Who in your extended family could use some extra kindness this year?

• Did someone lose a job? Collect your siblings together and each donate towards Visa Gift Card or call and offer to pay a bill this month.
• Is someone getting a divorce or newly divorced? Make sure you let them know they're not alone and you're still there for them. Often people going through divorce feel isolated especially this time of the year. This is especially true for the non-custodial parent. He or she may be spending Christmas Day alone. Invite them over for dinner.
• Do you have an elderly relative at home, in an assisted-living facility or nursing home? Offer to drive them to the doctor's office, invite them to lunch, or set up a regular visitation schedule. Take old family pictures with you because they will enjoy looking at them. Take them artwork from your kids.
  
• Have your kids write Grandma and Grandpa a letter or color some pictures for them.
  

To me, the holidays are a time to spread peace and good will. No matter how we may each have been affected by the economy this past year, we are each still better off than the majority of the world and many people in our own communities. By reaching out and lifting them up, even in what may seem like insignificant ways, we will not only improve the lives of others, we will feel better about ourselves.

FINALLY! Some Good News!

Stories like this truly warm my heart. It's no secret that times are tough and sometimes we forget that some people don't have enough money to feed their pets. Sure it's easy to say "well, just give Fido away" UNLESS you've ever had a beloved pet. I'm telling you right now that I'd personally go without a few meals a month before letting Betsey and Ross starve or giving them away. Pets are calming and soothing. They love us unconditionally. Ross gives massages when I have migraines (really). They are good company. Dogs give their owners good exercise when they have to be walked (the dogs have to be walked, not the owners).

After reading the story below, drop off a bag of dog or cat food at Pooch Pantry (part of B.C. Dog Training Club) in Mundelein.

Chicago, suburban pet owners look for place to turn when food runs out
The worsening economy means many animal owners can no longer afford the cost of food and care for their four-legged companions.

Tribune Staff Report, February 20, 2009

When his health-care consulting business dried up, George Olsen applied for the state's food stamp program, but didn't count on the difficulty in feeding Oliver and Gracie.

State aid doesn't cover food for his two golden retrievers, cherished family members for Olsen, of Vernon Hills.

After learning of his plight, dog trainer Cathie Sabin provided him with a 20-pound bag of dog food for free, and then was motivated to take it a step further by opening the Pooch Pantry in Mundelein.

"That animal in itself gives them comfort, gives them unconditional love," said Sabin, who hopes to keep her pantry stocked with dog and cat food, treats, used collars, and other supplies.

The food bank for pets, run out of Sabin's B.C. Dog Training Club, opened almost a month ago and is accepting dog and cat food donations, which it distributes at no cost to people suffering a financial crisis. With little publicity, she has handed out 12 to 15 bags of food every Saturday morning, mostly to senior citizens on fixed incomes, and expects the numbers to grow as word spreads.

Woodland Primary School in Gurnee has started collecting pet food to donate to the pantry.

There are several pet food pantries in Chicago, including a "foreclosure program" at PAWS, which has doled out 2,100 pounds of cat food and 2,240 pounds of dog food to needy families since September, a spokeswoman said. PAWS also offers foster care, pet food and emergency medical care and has about 40 people on its current recipient list.

Sabin believes her Pooch Pantry to be among the first in Lake County—reflecting a growing need during the economic downturn.

Nationally, animal shelters have reported rising numbers of people who are giving up their pets, skipping veterinarian visits and buying cheaper pet food. The evidence is largely anecdotal, but there's no doubt among advocates in the field.

"I think we are going to see more of these kinds of things if the economy doesn't turn around," said Steve Dale, a nationally syndicated pet care journalist.

Pet pantries have become a necessity in some areas, Dale said. "People are just opening their doors, letting [pets] out, or in some cases leaving them in foreclosed homes," Dale said.

Other owners, he said, are trimming their budgets and agonizing over how to keep their pets.

At Save-A-Pet in Grayslake, executive director Frank Corbi said he has seen about a 20 percent increase since last year in people relinquishing their cats or dogs.

Corbi described a man who had to return a pet because "he was literally living out of his truck."

Afterward, "he went outside and actually fell on his knees and cried," Corbi said. "I will never forget that."

At PAWS Chicago, the pet food bank is available only by appointment, said spokeswoman Susan Robinson. Most who need help are in foreclosure or unemployed, and their stories are heartbreaking, she said.

"We have had a couple of people whose animals have had a medical crisis," she said. "Now they can't afford" to feed them.

The hope, she said, is to try to help people for three to six months, with the understanding that they are trying to get back on their feet.

Sabin delivers a similar message. On a recent weekend, she explained to several people who dropped by her Mundelein pantry for food that she would do her best to help, but added a caveat.

Sabin also runs a non-profit dog rescue education group, and she talks to each pet food donor about the organization's mission and goals, allowing contributions to be tax-deductible.

Mary York, 57, of Round Lake Park, stopped by the Pooch Pantry to pick up some dog and cat food. She lives alone, if you don't count her Dalmatian mix, Oreo, 10; a beagle mix, Barley, 8; and a 9-year-old cat named Morris.

York, who is on a fixed income and has health problems, also has been trying to find a home for two strays a neighbor left with her.

"I have a full house," she said with a sigh. "They're my family. They are alarm clocks and everything else."

Another visitor to the pantry was Linda Plier of Waukegan, who donated food.

"People shouldn't be without their best friends," said Plier, who no longer has a pet of her own but appreciates their companionship. "I am lucky enough to still have a job."

Before he was referred to Sabin, Olsen, 60, said he was surprised to find so little help available for struggling pet owners in the suburbs. He figured he called 20 places as he tries to get his family through a tight spot after his consulting business soured.

"The thing that was disappointing and irritating to me is that when I called a few of the pet stores . . . their response was, 'No we don't do that. Maybe you should consider giving your pet up.' "

That would be a last resort, said Olsen, who hopes he can reciprocate the kindness shown him and help other pet owners.

"This is such an important piece of people's lives," he said.



Where to find pet food assistance

Can You Help Spread Thanksgiving Cheer?

The economy is suffering and as a result more families than ever are turning to food pantries for help, especially as the holidays approach. Food pantries, however, are in a Catch-22. The need is far greater than normal (whatever that is), but donations are down significantly. And as a result, food pantries aren't able to provide assistance to as all families.

Donating to food pantries isn't just something I write about like a broken record. It's actually personal to me.

Shortly after my parents divorced when I was 12, my mom was unemployed and studying to pass the real estate test and earn her real estate license. We had no money. Child support payments from my dad were sporadic and there was no alimony. Truly, we had no money. Rather than ask my grandmother for money, my mom applied for food stamps and signed my brother and me up for the free lunch program at school. I remember I was mortified. I was terrified my friends would find out and no longer be my friends. In junior high, image was everything. I even had to work as a runner on picture day at school that year in order to get free school pictures.

My most vivid memory of that year, however, was going to the food pantry with my mom to pick up donated food so that we'd have a Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't want to go, but my mom made me. And almost 25 years later, I'm still grateful she did.

A few weeks later, we went back to pick up donated food and gifts for Christmas.

My brother and I were two of the kids on the giving tree that year. I was in 8th grade, but whomever got my name must have misunderstood because I received underwear for an 8 year old as my donated Christmas present. The look on my mom's face on that Christmas morning as I opened my present meant for a little girl, not a teenager, was one of the saddest looks I've ever seen. I could tell she felt broken, but she tried to hide it. No parent wants to feel like they've failed their children and I know that's how she felt.

Although I was momentarily disappointed at having received essentially nothing for Christmas that year, I learned the value of compassion and helping others. It was more important that someone had generously given than what they gave. And I knew that it was more important that we still had a home, had food on the table, and were together than whether I received any presents.

We only spent a year or so on food stamps and I only remember that one holiday season receiving donated food and gifts (although there may have been another year), but the memories of that year depending on the kindness of strangers will never leave me. I know it's made me more compassionate and less judgemental of those on hard times. And each year, no matter what, I always donate to my local food pantry and giving tree.

So please please give to your local food pantry, even though you may be struggling. The smallest donation will make a huge difference. You may never know the lives you will touch, but I assure you that your act of kindness will change the life of someone. It changed mine.