The hectic holiday season has arrived — and along with it, the busiest shopping season of the year.
But as the cash registers continuously chime, let’s not forget to give something that doesn’t cost us a dime: Our time.
Generosity is only a reality if it is given. And these days, generosity is needed at an all-time high.
Human nature drives many of us to spend an inordinate amount of time complaining about the economy’s effect on our lives. Instead, the holiday season is the perfect moment for the able-bodied individual to use that gripe time constructively by volunteering and helping others.
From being a lunch buddy through the Lake Washington School District LINKS program, gift wrapping for Hopelink or providing parental mentoring for the Friends of Youth, this city is filled with plenty of opportunities to lend a helping hand. These kinds of organizations need your help more than ever as we continue to climb out of this economic recession.
Volunteering your time to help others can be the best gift to give these days.
We are lucky to live and work in Redmond. It has maintained its economic vitality and sense of community during these tough times. It’s a testament to the residents and city officials who have shown great resolve and leadership skills without greedy intentions.
We have to continued to be generous, open-minded and smart as we try to bounce back from our economic loss.
But even in a good economy, it’s important to volunteer your time to make others — and ultimately our community — better and stronger.
In tough times, the strong can become stronger, so it’s important for those people to pass that strength onto those who need it.
The Redmond Reporter and the Rotary Club of Redmond want to honor a star volunteer in our community with the Rotary Community MVP of the Year Award. E-mail your nominations for a Community MVP who has committed an extraordinary amount of volunteer time in Redmond to redmondrotary@yahoo.com. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 15. The winner will be honored with an award at The Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce Awards Luncheon Jan. 20, 2010.
The nominations must include the name and contact information for the nominee and the name and contact information for the person making the nomination.
The nomination also must include a brief paragraph about what the nominee has done to help out in the community through volunteerism.
So as we celebrate the holidays with family and friends, let’s provide a helping hand to those who might need an extra boost — and highlight those people making a difference in Redmond.
Bill Christianson is the editor of the Redmond Reporter. He can be reached at bchristianson@redmond-reporter.com or at (425) 867-0353, ext. 5050
