By Jamie Venneman
Service is a key part of holiday traditions, but many people don”t know where or how to serve. With so many willing people and so many charities, there is a need for simplification. Here are five simple ways for members of the Provo community to serve during this holiday season.
* First mention must go to the Community Action Food Bank. The food bank sponsors the BYU vs. U of U Food Fight every year, which is going on right now. The simplest way to serve for any BYU student, faculty member or visitor on campus is to bring non-perishable food items to drop into the bins located all over campus. Some such locations are near the entrances of the Wilkinson Student Center and inside of the Harris Fine Arts and Communications building, as well as many other buildings on campus. And the drive does a lot of good for the community.
“The food that is donated during the holiday season is critical to helping us meet the need in the community,” said Myla Dutton, executive director of Community Action Services.
* Deseret Industries (D.I.) appreciates donations year-round, but is a simple way to do something good during the holiday season.
“We”re asking for those things still of worth, easy to drop off,” said Perry Jensen, manager for store operations for DI. “DI is able to take things that would normally go to waste [and] put them back into use.”
D.I. also helps men and women get back into the work force through additional training. To help with D.I.”s efforts, make a donation or volunteer by either calling 373-7920 or visiting their Orem location at 1415 N State St.
* The Marine”s Toys for Tots program only collects during the holidays and has many donation locations all around Utah. Toys for Tots collects new, unwrapped toys for needy families throughout the holiday season. So far this season, 7,000 families need toys locally.
“Nothing goes out of the area, from Riverton to the Mexican Hat Reservation,” said Staff Sgt, Daniel Cope, assistant coordinator for the Marines South Jordan collection center. “Our goal this year is probably close to a quarter million toys.”
The closest and largest location in the area to donate to Toys for Tots is the Orem Wal-Mart on University Parkway. To learn more about Toys for Tots or find donation locations visit www.toysfortots.org.
* Albertsons is also part of a very simple way to serve. Frequent shoppers can use their Preferred Savings Card number to donate to their favorite charity or school. Each participating organization is given a specific number when they sign up with Albertsons, and this number combined with a Preferred Savings Card allows shoppers to give a percentage of their money spent at Albertsons to their favorite charity or school.
“Albertsons has a rich history of giving back to the communities we serve, and the Community Partners program is another way we are able to further that commitment,” said Donna Eggers, communications manager of Albertsons Intermountain West Division.
The sign-up process is easy. First, get a Preferred Savings Card. Next, go to the Albertsons Web site, www.albertsons.com and click on “In the Community.” Finally, customers must submit their name, Preferred Savings Card number and phone number along with the identification number for the organization to which their donations will go. All participating organizations can also be found on the Albertsons Web site.
* Finally, Friday”s Kids Respite is a very unique and local way to serve. Friday”s Kids is an organization that provides childcare on Friday nights to disabled children from birth to 22 years old. The organization needs 12 to 15 volunteers every Friday evening from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Many students from BYU have volunteered already.
“The volunteers from BYU are wonderful and the parents [of these children] just appreciate them coming,” said Diane McNeill, co-founder of Friday”s Kids Respite. “Without them, we wouldn”t have a program.”
To volunteer for Friday”s Kids Respite, go online to www.fridayskids.org and sign up.
There is a multitude of ways to serve and donate around the holidays. Use this list of five simple ways to get into the holiday spirit and serve others this holiday season.
