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 Merry
Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Whatever holiday
or holidays you celebrate, may you find peace and joy this
wonderful season, and may your fondest dreams come true —
now and throughout the year.
IBOs
are conscientious business men and women who excel at
sharing an incredible business opportunity with people who
need a positive change in their lives. They also excel at
sharing of their abundance with others who sometimes need
help in some amazing ways. Among their selfless efforts are
bringing relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina, helping
families build a home, and supporting children in far-flung
communities. In these ways an many others, you can count on
IBOs to lend a helping hand.
Current Good Works Underway
IBOAI
congratulates IBOs across North America who have donated
their time, their money, and their very selves to helping
others. Here are just some of the organizations they
have supported this year. Take a look at these
organizations’ websites and see just some of the good works
underway.
You
Can Still Help This Holiday Season
Willing to help out? There’s still time. Check out some of
the suggestions below. IBOAI doesn’t endorse any single
organization, and these are just some of possibilities we
found by doing some simple searches online.
Please
keep in mind our service men and women around the world this
holiday season. Did you know that you can make a
serviceman’s holiday special by donating money toward a
phone card for a call home during the holidays? Check out
the
USO website for more
information.
And
did you know that food pantries are hit especially hard this
time of year? They need your contributions to help needy
families put food on the table, especially for the holidays.
You can easily donate non-perishable food items to local
food pantries or money to regional or national food banks.
Search “food banks” or “food pantries” or “feed the hungry”
and the name of your town to find a center near you. Or see
your local phone directory.
Most
big cities and surrounding towns connect with the
Marine Corp Toys for Tots
and
Salvation Army Angel Tree
programs. Each program collects toys for needy boys and
girls of all ages who likely would not otherwise receive a
toy for the holiday. Many television stations have joined
the campaigns, and area stores act as collection points to
drop off the toys, making giving easy and convenient. Search
“Toys for Tots” and “Angel Tree” for more information.
National programs receive a lot of attention, but local
charities need your help, too. Your family church or parish
probably has a giving program of some kind, too — don’t
forget to your neighbors this holiday season. It may be to
provide a basket for food for the holiday table, coats,
hats, and gloves for the winter, shoes or other clothes, or
even secretly setting up a Christmas tree surrounded with
gifts while a needy family is at holiday service. Small
communities often work big miracles thanks to the generosity
of people like you.
Much
attention is given to those bell ringers for the Salvation
Army; did you know that although the Salvation Army is a
national — even international — organization, fundraising is
done at the regional and local level? That means that the
coins and bills you but in the bucket in your town stay in
your area! They’re used to help people in need from your
area now and throughout the year. And speaking of bell
ringers, we hear there’s a need for bell ringers in some
areas — that might be a fun way to spread holiday cheer.
So,
happy holidays — and happy holiday sharing — to everyone!
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