PLEASE HELP!

 Happy holidays to you and your family!

 While many of us are blessed with a loving family, a warm home, an abundance of food, and plentiful creature comforts this holiday season, there are many families in Carroll County who are not as fortunate.  It is hard to believe it, but there are people right in our community who are struggling to heat their home, provide basic clothing for their family, and purchase groceries to make healthy meals.  And, during the Holidays, there is added pressure on these fragile families to provide presents for their children.  Add to all of this the uncertainty of the economy and rising prices for groceries, fuel, and utilities, and it is easy to see how hard this holiday season will be for families in our community.     

 It is easy for the true spirit of the holiday to be lost on our own children (who, like kids throughout America, see this as a time of gift receiving instead of gift giving).  Surrounded by affluence, it can be hard for them to understand that there are children in Carroll County who might not receive any gifts this season.

In an effort to help teach our children about the meaning of the holidays, Pack 883 has decided to support Neighbors in Need, a program of Carroll County’s Human Services Program (www.hspinc.org).   The Neighbors in Need program provides holiday toys for children, food vouchers, and clothing (for men, women, children, and infants) at a Santa Shop in Westminster.  The shop operates for one week just prior to Christmas, and families are referred to the program through Carroll County’s Department of Social Services.

Would you consider donating new clothing (winter coats, jeans, shirts, socks, and underwear) or new toys for this worthy charity?  Please bring your donations to our November Pack Meeting, and members of our Community Service committee will deliver the donations to Neighbors in Need later in December.

 We hope you will consider helping us this year, and we hope you and your family have a memorable holiday season!     

Neighbors in Need Flier