Despite economic woes, this is the time of year many families scrape together a little extra to help those in need.
My wife and I recently hosted our first Thanksgiving, and despite the fact that I have grocery shopped since moving out on my own when I was 18, I was still a little shocked at the expense. Costs of food for a relatively modest holiday dinner feeding 11 people soared quickly.
Holidays are stressful for everyone. Preparing and planning meals, battling insane crowds while shopping for gifts, making arrangements to travel or to accommodate traveling family members who are in town and pretending the goulash your father-in-law made for Thanksgiving (I know, I have never heard of goulash on Thanksgiving either) was delicious are all part of the hustle and bustle of the season.
Now, imagine all of this stress on top of a severely low income. Imagine wondering how you are going to get your deserving children gifts. Imagine trying to figure out, on an extremely limited grocery budget, how to come up with a special meal to celebrate the occasion. Imagine worrying whether or not your kids have coats warm enough to protect them from Mother Nature.
Typical holiday annoyances aren’t so stressful by comparison. It does not take much. If every student in a school brings in one canned good, if every shopper tosses 50 cents into the Red Kettle as they pass by, if everyone decides to clean out their closet and donate good- condition clothing that is no longer needed, the holidays can be a little less bleak for some families.
Everyone seems to be on a tight budget these days. If you cannot afford to donate, there are other ways to help. Many charities need help organizing goods collected into gift baskets, delivering goods, or serving food in shelters.
Now is the time to make sure no one goes hungry this holiday season.

Family in need
A family originally from Birch Run recently moved their manufactured home to a piece of property in Gaines Township. They recently found out that their home did not pass inspection because the peak of their roof did not meet local ordinances.
Both the mother and father have had health problems and they have one child. They are in need of building materials, such as plywood and trusses, to complete the project and pass the inspection.
Anyone who knows where they can find materials cheaply or who would like to help should contact Jacob Puestow at 810-287-4276.

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