Christmas In July

I have three charities that I contribute money to on a yearly basis. I have a tradition of donating to "my" charities in July.This is especially true of the local food bank/pantry that gets flooded with food donations and contributions in November and December. People need to eat in the summer as well and I think lots of times we forget that fact in the pressure to make sure everyone one has a turkey for their Thanksgiving table.

Many times the grocery store will have a box by the front door for donations of canned and non perishable items, but I've noticed that box seems to be MIA in the summer.

For the past couple of years I've been buying a gift card to the local grocery store and mailing it to my local food bank. I buy what amount I am able to give (some years it's only $10 some years its $50, one year it was 5 cans of beans, that was all I could afford), but I try to make sure that I give in the summer. I actually bought the card this am on my way to work and posted it in the noon mail drop. One GOOD thing off my list for July.

While we are all caught up in our debt reduction, savings and bankruptcy proceedings, please take a few minutes to donate what you can to the charity of your choice. I realize that for some folks, you may not have any money to spare, but if your grocery store has a food donation box, please take the time to at least buy some items to donate.