Perhaps, when you saw the headline on this page, you rolled your eyes just a little and thought, "Gosh, another plea to help the needy - who am I, Santa?"
Well, in one word, yes. Let's face it, the much-touted social safety net has more holes than a pound of swiss cheese. It is virtually impossible to live on social assistance, and many working single parents can't even make ends meet with one job.
New Westminster, thankfully, seems to have a wide array of non-profit groups who help those in need in so many different ways. We featured just one of those organizations on the front page of our Dec. 13 edition (the story is also online). But there are dozens more. Each year since 1996, The Record has pulled together a Guide to Giving to help readers get acquainted with just some of the groups that could use a hand - be it volunteer time or donations of goods or money - to help them help others. (See it in our print edition starting Dec. 13 on page 13, or search for it online.)
Frankly, the truth is that these groups need all the time and help they can get in the other 11 months of the year, but at this time of the year folks seem more receptive to giving. We could make cute analogies about busy elves trying to complete their to-do lists, but the reality is a bit more challenging than that: there are more people who need help than ever before and fewer donation dollars going around than in the past.
We know that there is plenty of demand for donation dollars and volunteer hours, and hundreds of causes that are important to different people.
With so many groups working for environmental issues, disease research, international relief and more, it may seem easy to overlook the small organizations right here at home that do so much good for local residents.
Don't underestimate the power of small good deeds - the sense of caring, community, possibility and, ultimately, joy that comes from helping neighbours can be transformative. It's impossible to say how far and wide the positive "ripple effect" extends, but we do know this: when you create hope in another person, only good can follow.
