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The beauty and misunderstanding of holiday volunteerism are both apparent in the overheard comment of a child.
Of recent Thanksgiving efforts to feed those in need, the child said, he did not want to miss helping because if he missed it now, he wouldn’t be able to help again until next year.
Too often, that’s the view many folks take this time of year. People and organizations scramble to ensure people have Thanksgiving meals, Christmas food and holiday toys, while the other 11 months of the year, charitable organizations often search for volunteers and contributions.
Make no mistakes. South Georgia is a giving region. Its generosity was apparent last week as numerous individuals and organizations gave of their time, energies, dollars and talents to ensure others had a joyous Thanksgiving. Some even sacrificed their own family time to spend Thanksgiving helping others.
Our community is blessed by this spirit. If past experience holds true, and there’s no evidence that it will not, this spirit of generosity will continue and deepen as we enter the Christmas and holiday season.
Already, The Times’ Empty Stocking Fund is raising money to ensure approximately 1,200 Valdosta and Lowndes County children will find toys in their stockings and under the tree come Christmas morning. Meanwhile, numerous other organizations are working toward similar goals to bring toys to children, coats to the cold, food to the hungry.
But many of these needs do not start with Thanksgiving and end on Christmas.
Nor should we as a community see this month as the only opportunity to volunteer for the good of others.
Various organizations offer opportunities to volunteer and contribute each month. The aforementioned child has no need to worry if he misses volunteering at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Good deeds and goodwill toward others are in high demand each day of the year.
At the end of his classic “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens writes of how Ebenezer Scrooge has been transformed from a miser into a man who carries Christmas in his heart each and every day. Had Dickens written a sequel revealing the reformed Scrooge’s generosity in April or July or September then maybe more people would realize that we all have the potential to be as good as we are at Thanksgiving and Christmas no matter the day or date.
What We Think
Generosity is always in season
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Thoughts on graduation
Graduation ceremonies reflect how life marches on. For the students receiving their diplomas and degrees, graduation is a culmination of the majority of their lives’ work.
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Thumbs up, thumbs down
THUMBS UP: To Dr. John Gaston, retiring dean of Valdosta State University’s College of the Arts. For the past 10-plus years, Gaston has worked to build a more interconnected program with various artistic and communications departments working together. Given that you are likely to see one College of the Arts department collaborating with another during events is proof of Gaston’s success.
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On the go this weekend
Take a breath.
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Sharing the roads with motorcycles
With the recent pleasant temperatures and sunny skies, the number of motorcycles on area roads has increased.
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Thank your local law enforcement today
Today, May 15, was designated Peace Officers Memorial Day back in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy was in office.
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Visit musical roots this weekend
Beginning Saturday, May 18, Nashville, Ga., will be hosting a special Smithsonian exhibit, “New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music.” The exhibit will continue through the end of June and Nashville has done a tremendous job in promoting and planning for the exhibit.
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Happy Mother’s Day!
A few years ago, a television commercial asked, Who first believed in you? Many folks may have instinctively answered by simply saying, Mom.
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Thumbs up
THUMBS UP: To mail workers, volunteers and food bank staff for gathering food for the annual Stamp Out Hunger postal food drive today. A plastic bag designated for canned goods and other non-perishable food items should have arrived in your mailbox earlier this week. If you haven’t already, take a few moments to fill the bag with food and hang from your mailbox. If you didn’t receive the special Stamp Out Hunger bag, any plastic bag filled with food will do. This food drive helps feed thousands of South Georgians annually. Valdosta-Lowndes County often donates more food than nearly all other cities and counties in Georgia.
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Celebrating nurses
She is considered the founder of modern nursing so it seems only natural that National Nurses Week would include Florence Nightingale’s birthday.
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Helping the hungry: Mail it in!
Valdosta-Lowndes County continues revealing its generous spirit.
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Thoughts on graduation
