Generosity to Item Santa could bring happiness to a child

LYNN – Taking things for granted is one of life’s luxuries. To have the utility of a car, the convenience of a cell phone, the security of a home, the income guarantee of employment, the stability of a mortgage – all may provide occasional gripes, but each is welcome, particularly during holiday time.The holidays should remind those with the means to assist others that there is a demand for their help, whether that help includes donating to the Item Santa, volunteering at a local homeless shelter, or serving as a Big Brother or Big Sister to a needy child.Children in poor families may find the holidays hard to bear, when peers receive expensive and fashionable gifts such as Wii systems, iPods, or Avril Lavigne anthems. For these youngest, neediest members of our society, our contributions will have a special poignancy.Imagine how joyful you felt when you unwrapped your holiday gift (or gifts – for many fortunate folks, that’s probably in the plural) when you were a little girl or little boy, how fabulous it was to have the toy you saw on TV or in a department store window or in a catalog, just like all your friends. Gifts also meant something else; they meant that your parents remembered you, and cared about you. This is something to pass on to the next generation.Sadly, there are parents in our community who, through no fault of their own, lack the financial means to provide their children or grandchildren with gifts to brighten the cold winter. This list of parents and grandparents includes a woman who takes care of her grandson as his legal guardian. Monthly bills consume all of her paycheck and make it impossible for her to purchase Christmas presents, which in her grandson’s case would include board games and books.Think back to how fun it was to play a game of Trivial Pursuit, Clue, or Monopoly with your family on a wintry evening, or how enjoyable it was to traverse the pages of a book and spend an afternoon with the Cat in the Hat, the Velveteen Rabbit, the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. (Or, in today’s world, with Dora the Explorer or Elmo.)Part of the magic of the holiday season is gifting others with generosity. How wonderful, and how easy, it would be to make a child as happy as we once were unwrapping gifts at holiday time. Your generosity to the Item Santa would bring an immeasurable happiness to a child at a moment when he or she needs it most.To make a donation to Item Santa, clip the coupon in today’s Item or download one and mail it, along with your check, to The Item Salvation Army Santa, P.O. Box 951, Lynn, MA 01903.The Salvation Army will be distributing gifts to needy families Dec. 10-13.For more information, call the Salvation Army at 781-598-0673.