Even in the best of times, people struggle. Even when the economy’s going great guns, there are people who are on the outside with their noses pressed against the window, looking in on the feast.Perhaps in better times, the people on the outside stand a better chance of getting the help they need to make ends meet. And maybe, when times are good, we’re more inclined in this most festive season to dip into our pockets and contribute toward making a needy family’s Christmas a happier and a healthier one.Obviously, these are not the best of times. They may not be the worst of times in a Dickensian sense, but they certainly seem desperate enough. A succinct letter from a local family says it all very nicely:”Please,” the woman writes, “I am trying so hard ? I am going back to school and my husband got laid off from work.”That one sentence wraps up the entire conundrum of this economy. You can’t argue with any of it. The husband is one of thousands of workers who have been victimized by an economic downturn he probably had nothing to do with creating. His wife seeks to arm herself with a better education to increase her opportunities – just as society would expect her to – but with that pursuit of education obviously comes sacrifice. And the money has to come from somewhere. And since loans are increasingly harder to come by, one does wonder from where.In the past week, the Lynn community dipped into its collective pocket and sent a team of local youth football players to Florida to participate in the Pop Warner national championships. It was a gratifying thing to see people with nothing personal at stake reward these kids for their tremendous achievement, and those who contributed can be secure in knowing they did their part to make a young boy realize a pretty impossible dream.All this proves is that people of Lynn have it in them to recognize need and take action. But let’s not stop with the football players. Now, let’s turn our attention to some more needy people: The boys and girls of families who have been caught in the web of an economic downturn, or who have consistently had their noses pressed against that window as the banquet continues on the other side.”My children deserve a good Christmas,” the woman writes.Yes, they do. Every child deserves a good Christmas. And we have the power, by our generosity, to see that every child does have a good Christmas.For more than a half a century, the Item Santa has made it his mission to see that the boys and girls in the Lynn area have a meaningful Christmas, but he cannot do it alone. He relies on our help.Your generosity would be most appreciated. Click here to download a coupon to make a donation to Item Santa. Mail it, along with your check, to The Item Salvation Army Santa, P.O. Box 951, Lynn, MA 01903.For more information, call the Salvation Army at 781-598-0673.