Editor's Notebook: Let's not forget to give this season

The holiday season is upon us and with it comes The Recorder’s now-annual Care Enough to Share campaign.

Once again we’re asking South County residents to remember those who are less fortunate in our community by donating to one of the many area nonprofit organizations that operate in and around Porterville. Yes, we’re asking for your money, but as always it’s for a good cause — one you determine for yourself.

Traditional beneficiaries include Love in the Name of Christ, Central California Family Crisis Center, Comision Honorifica Mexicana-Americana, Helping Hands of Porterville, the Porterville Rescue Mission Life Recovery Center, El Granito Foundation, the Orange Belt Board of Realtors Canned Tree Food Drive, Toys for Tots, St. Vincent de Paul-Catholic Charities, and the Salvation Army.

That’s by no means an exhaustive list — the Porterville Education Foundation comes immediately to mind, as do the Sierra View District Hospital Foundation and the Porterville College Foundation — but it’s certainly a good place to start.

The much-publicized bursting of the housing bubble is making it difficult for an unprecedented number of people across the country — and right here at home — to meet their mortgages. The rise in the number of people losing their homes was a contributing factor to the larger economic crisis now facing the nation.

It’s no secret we’re hip deep in some of the most troubling economic times in recent memory. The recession is prompting companies to lay off workers — or shut down completely. People are spending less — as evidenced by dire predictions for retailers this holiday season.

That, in turn, places additional burdens on small and large businesses alike.

Many of those who are working are not getting raises. They’re paying more for their company-provided health care insurance — where it’s offered. In many cases they’re working less as hours are cuts.

Meanwhile the bills keep rolling in.

All this means there’s likely a greater need now than in recent years for the services provided by the many nonprofit groups serving the South County.

Food, shelter and assistance with paying bills, getting to and from doctors and paying for prescription medications remains a focus of many of the groups I’ve already named. As more people seek that type of assistance, the pool of money to pay for services shrinks.

That’s where you come in. Send your donations to:

Care Enough to Share
The Porterville Recorder
115 E. Oak Ave.
Porterville, CA 93257

Be sure to make your check payable to your chosen nonprofit organization. We’ll collect the checks and get them to the appropriate people so your money can be put to good use here in the South County.

The campaign will continue through the end of December.

-- Contact Editor Glen Faison at 784-5000, Ext. 1040, or gfaison@portervillerecorder.com.