There’s still time to help those in need

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just a week away. We realize that the compressed holiday shopping season has put even more pressure than usual on all of us, but we hope that all of our readers can find the time to remember those in need this holiday season.

The stock market may be booming and unemployment is still near an all-time low, but there was the depressing news this past week that homelessness among Americans once again has increased in the past year and millions of American children (1 in 8) face food insecurity on a regular basis.

The cold, harsh reality for many Americans in 2025 is that the promise of benefitting from a booming economy still is only a dream, where even those who are lucky enough to work full-time are barely getting by thanks to the crushingly-high cost of living, especially housing.

And for those who cannot find a job, or who are unable to work — and especially for their children — the holiday joy that most of us take for granted is just an illusion.

We recognize that in our hurry-hurry world where we barely have time to think, the Christmas season brings with it the onslaught of last-minute shopping and holiday preparations. But we urge all of our readers who have the means to do so to take a brief “time-out” in order to consider doing something to make the holiday season a bit brighter for those who are less fortunate.

We can assure our readers that any gift of charity that we make, whether it be to a Toys for Tots program or to a Salvation Army Santa (the Salvation Army provided services to 27 million Americans last year) or a food bank donation, will be the most meaningful — and most satisfying — act that we can make this holiday season.