5 Ways To Help This Holiday Season

In the wake of the tragedy that hit Newtown, Connecticut Friday, I thought it would be best to mention a few ways in which you can help someone in need this holiday

1-08-06 christmas tree 011 (Photo credit: takfoto)

season.

1. Donate money to a charity.  If you want to donate specifically to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, information on how to donate can be found here
2. Volunteer at a local soup kitchen.  You can Google information for your area
3. Donate toys to a toy collection.  Personally, I made a donation this past Saturday to a fill the cruiser drive in Newington.  There is also Toys For Tots, the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s charity program.  This link will allow you to donate money, or find a local drop off point to donate a toy.
4. Give blood.  The American Red Cross website can guide you to a blood drive in your area.
5. Just take a moment to be kind to your fellow man, whether it is something as simple as providing change for a stranger when they are paying, or helping someone carrying their bags to their car.  It is a little gesture, but it goes a long way.

Related articles

• Season of Giving: Sewickley Herald launches holiday collection effort (triblive.com)
• 7 Cat Causes That Deserve Your Donations This Holiday Season (catster.com)
• 101 Novel Ways To Give To Charity This Holiday Season (forbes.com)
• Use the Holiday Season to Instill the Value of Service to Others (atlantablackstar.com)

5 Things You Won’t Hear This Christmas

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 1990, George Carlin did a routine called Things You Never Hear, which appears on his album Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics.  As you can expect, the routine had a number of things that no one has ever said.

With this being the holiday season (unless all the doomsayers are right about December 21st), I thought it would be best to take a look at some of the things you will not hear.

Things You Don’t Want To Hear

Image by justmakeit via Flickr

What is the one thing you don’t want to hear during the holidays?  For me, it was the following: