Times Tough This Holiday Season? Reach out to your Community

by James S. O'Donnell

There are a lot of charity and semi-charitable programs out there, especially around the holidays, and very especially if you have children. In metropolitan areas there can be countless opportunities for aid, whether from departments of the city itself, businesses, organizations, schools or individuals (check Freecycle and the free and community sections of Craigslist).

Even in rural areas, there are usually some outreach efforts by churches and a few of the more established companies. If your search for frugal holiday ideas truly takes on more of the tone of needing help with almost ANY holiday ideas -- and most of these programs do have guidelines for validating income standards, etc. -- then the trick is putting aside your pride, seeking out these resources, and taking advantage of them. Look at your local paper online to search for news about this kind of thing. Ask the people you know if their place of worship is organizing anything, or their workplace is accepting applications for families to "adopt" for the holidays. Look into local chapters of organizations known for doing this kind of thing, like the Salvation Army. And, again, check online networks such as Freecycle.org and Craigslist.org, for things that people are giving away, or selling cheaply, as a matter of course. People are regularly offering food, clothing, toys, books, decorations, even Christmas trees!

At the least, make the most of programs that will save you money on basic necessities, leaving you more to spare on holiday trimmings. Apply for HEAP to save on your utilities bill. See if a branch of Angel Food Ministries is near you.