by Genie H, a volunteer with the Edgemont Youth Press
Around this time of year, the holiday season is fast approaching, and festive ornaments, alongside snowflakes, decorate barren branches; a call for community is heard. Boxes appear more frequently around houses and donation banks, waiting to be filled with food and goods. For families throughout Calgary, the holiday season is often the internally warmest, externally coldest exchange. Yet, some families may only experience true warmth when granted enough basic resources. This
year is the perfect opportunity to show up as a community. It is inexpressibly heartbreaking that one family should be able to enjoy having an extravagantly decorated tree, surrounded by presents and a warm fireplace, with lots of company and bathing in a familial love, while another wonders whether they will be able to have just enough food for their loved ones. More often, however, the latter scenario is forgotten about. In media, we only hear about celebrations. After all, it is a feel-good story. But we can no longer turn an ignorant eye to the needs of our own community. So what can we do?
Whether your family is a regular donor, or whether this season will be a first, it is up to us to keep the well-being of our community alive, fostering care and support. Some families who care, yet are not in a position to donate, can feel helpless, but this does not have to be the case. When it comes to actually helping, we tend to only think of one thing: charities. Then the question becomes which charity, as there are so many, and it can feel immensely overwhelming. Food banks, clothes, books, toy drives, and so much more. You might have wondered, ‘How could one person possibly donate to so many important causes all at once?’ Hence, people with the right intentions end up giving up. Simply put, it is too much effort. Humans like simplicity. So instead, another year goes by where a can of beans in the pantry that could have gone to donation centers across Calgary, remains in the pantry, only to be thrown out a couple of months later. But this cycle can be changed.
Giving does not have to be some extravagant offer to the community. It can happen in little ways. Supporting local food bank drives, packing gently used toys in boxes to send to children and fulfill Christmas dreams, supporting local businesses at farmers; or holiday crafts’ markets, assisting pet shelters, adopting a pen pal, or writing a letter to a soldier. There exists something out there for all of us; we just have to find the cause to care for. For some, making baked goods at home and taking them to your local homeless shelter is a thoughtful method of support. All of these methods do not require the largest, flashiest, or most resourceful traditional donations, but they all help to make our beloved community just a little bit better day by day.