The festive season is one that many of us look forward to. It’s a time for the giving and receiving of gifts, celebration with family and friends, and generally having a fantastic time. However, this brings with it its own set of challenges and difficulties. As a chapter of the Federation, the Hawking has decided to do some of it’s public service remit by looking at ways to support and manage some of these difficulties, and will be highlighting something every weekend in December.
To kick things off, lets look at charities. BEFORE YOU SCROLL ON, I’m not asking for any kind of donation or funds but I wanted to show ways that you can support charities this time of year.
CHRISTMAS CARDS
Ah yes, the old Christmas card. Dating back to the 1600s (according to Wikipedia) these come from a time when communication was not instantaneous. They were mostly sent to people that you would not have contact with throughout the rest of the year. Now of course, the world wide web has woven us tighter together, we might not physically be in contact with each other, but thanks to social media, eMail, and text messaging, we are constantly in touch with each other. So, do we need to send paper cards to everyone? Why not choose a charity that is near and dear to your heart and spend the money on a donation to them? Use eMail and social media to send good wishes, and keep paper cards going to however many or few friends as you want. Or compromise< why not send charity Christmas cards?
FOOD AND DRINK
As we fill our shopping trollies ready for that big day, just remember that most UK supermarkets have bins to support food banks. There are important resources, and if you are able, please donate what you can. They also have areas for pet food too, which is donated to local animal homes. Again, if you are able to support, please do.
CHARITY CALENDARS
Many charity groups commission calendars and diaries. These are nice little gifts or useful items to use yourself. On a similar note, in busy town centres many local church and scout groups offer Christmas wrapping services. Simply leave the presents you’ve bought with them, go and have a cup of tea – or coffee – and come back with your gifts nicely wrapped.
CHARITY SHOPS
If you’re reading this, chances are that you are a Star Trek fan. If your friends and family know this, it makes you easy to buy for. The downside is that there is always a chance you end up with two of the same thing. If the item is relatively inexpensive, why not donate it to a charity shop?
To conclude, there are many demands on the pocket during the festive season, but there are still ways we can help without stretching budgets even further. Come backc next week, when we wikk be looking at mental health.