Our View: Donate to help the less fortunate

Fall is slowly giving way to winter and one more week until the start of the holiday season.

In Sweetwater County, a majority of us are blessed in one way or another. There are good jobs here, we live in a place where a short drive means escaping civilization, and we have a lot to be thankful for. However, for some of the county’s residents, the holiday season is a difficult time. Many seniors living off of small payoffs from social security or pension plans are forced to make tough budgetary choices that can cause them to choose between necessities. Also, a number of families throughout the county also face the possibility of slim months throughout the winter.

The residents of Green River can be a very generous group of people and we believe that generosity should be extended to the less fortunate residents of the county, both young and old. Stop by the Golden Hour Senior Center and adopt a senior from the center’s tree of giving. A few of them ask for truly basic things, like socks or pet food, to get through the winter. 

Residents should also consider donating baskets of food to the food bank. With the difficulty some residents face with receiving adequate food, the holidays can be especially stressful. A full turkey dinner, if broken down properly after the initial meal, can feed a family for a number of days afterward. A similar dinner on Christmas Day can last as long, giving less-fortunate families the opportunity to enjoy their time together without concerns of how everyone will be fed. 

A final donation we implore our readers to consider is a donation for Toys for Tots. While a few may consider Christmas’ commercialization to be one of the main factors ruining the “True Spirit of the Season,” the fact is that any child is delighted to receive a gift on Christmas morning. That joy that lights up on their faces after seeing that Santa not only stopped by, but left something, is one of the few, pure emotions a person can experience. As such, it’s a feeling every child in Sweetwater County should experience. Dropping off anything from a Play Doh set, to Lincoln Logs or even a board game or two at the local fire station can help spread holiday cheer throughout Green River and the rest of the county.

We have a lot to be thankful for here in Sweetwater County and a lot of us benefit greatly from the gifts the land has brought us.

Why shouldn’t we spread what we receive to those who are forced to live without?