The election is over. The coverage continues. The discussion of every little detail about the government continues. If I get a hankering for political news (which has been known to happen), I know just where to turn for a fix.
But there are other things going on in the world right now.
It's the season of year for giving!
Why?
Oh, for three reasons:
1) Around the holidays, people feel guilty about spending so much money on themselves, their family and their friends, so they give money to charities.
2) It's the end of the tax year, and some people like to build up those write-offs.
3) People who give regularly are inundated with requests for more funds and tend to give in to at least one.
This year, many charities are facing a money crunch, as any "extra" money people were giving to charity may not exactly be flying out the checking account this year.
If you're tightening your belt and feeling that binch, I still encourage you to get involved with charity efforts this year.
Doing the following won't cost you any money but will certainly provide a benefit for many, many people.
1) Find a one-time or holiday-only volunteer opportunity. Give some time away this year.
2) Sort through your kitchen cabinet, and put together a basket of non-perishable items to donate to your local food pantry. Sure, you spent money on the food originally, but are you really going to ever use 18 cans of garbanzo beans?
3) As we've talked about before, go through your dresser, your closet, your shoe tree (or any and all of the above for your significant other and/also children, if they'll let you) and take some items over to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.
4) Also consider donations of furniture...perhaps you've got an extra coffee table that your mother insisted you needed.
5) Pray. Pray for those in need. Pray for peace. Pray for the world around you. Prayer's free, after all.
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