Give The Gift of Warmth

>> Tuesday, October 28, 2008


Have you ever been cold? I mean really cold? How many times have you been watching TV on the couch and felt a chill so you grab the Afghan your grandmother made and covered up? What if you didn't have enough blankets for all your children? What if you had to keep your heat down or worse didn't have heat and not enough blankets for everyone?

I know this is a lot of questions and some of us don't want to think about being cold and without blankets but this is the truth for many families in the areas where we all live. With the rising costs of energy the choice to turn down the thermostat has turned into a must.

You can give the gift of warmth. Most of us have many more blankets then we need. We have them stuffed into closets, one thrown over the back of every chair, Afghans and quilts that others made and we won't ever get to use them. Please consider passing them on to a family in need.

Donating new or gently used blankets is as simple as putting them in a charity drop box. Every charity has this need. If you want to donate to someone where the blankets will be free to those that need it be sure to check with some of your local charities on their policies. In our area St. Vincent de Paul gives away needed items for free to those that qualify and sell other things at low prices in their store. Others may sell them at their charity stores for very little as well.

Giving other items like coats, gloves, scarves and hats are also appreciated items. These items we tend to gather as well. How many coats do you have? It seems like every Christmas we all tend to get gloves and scarves galore as well.

Working with inner city schools, St. Vincent de Paul and as a social worker I can tell you that people need winter coats as well. If you are a plus size person then your donation becomes even more important. Many plus size ladies are not able to get winter outer wear at charity stores and can not afford to pay the higher prices at stores.

I mentioned before on a blog that donating some items like coats and gloves to your child's school is also a good idea especially if it is an inner city school. Just don't tell your children so they don't see their coat walking around or donate to a different school. Simply call a school to see if they accept donations. I can't tell you how many kids come to school with no coat on the coldest days of the year.

Sometimes we all seem to feel so overwhelmed by the needs of others when we seem to have so many needs of our own. It can be hard to buy extra food when you struggle with your own food budget. However when you are able to donate anything whether it be food, blankets, coats, clothes or even the hundred extra toothpastes you have you are doing much more then some people and you should feel good about that.

SO PLEASE GO THROUGH YOUR CLOSETS, DRAWERS AND ASK YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO DONATE AS WELL. COLLECT THE ITEMS AND DROP THEM INTO A BOX. IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT.





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