Summer no fun for those who depend on donations from others

Published 10:08 am Monday, March 3, 2008

Next to Christmas, August is one of the busiest times of the year with back-to-school shopping, sports camps and family vacations.

But for some, the waning weeks of summer simply offer more of the same: stretching limited resources necessary to keep body and soul intact.

With vacations and increased demands on time, summer typically represents a dip in donations to organizations serving those in need.

Puget Sound Blood Center knows that to be true. With increased boat and vehicular traffic and outdoor activity, the demand for blood doesn’t take a summer break. But donors do.

Ditto for food banks like the one at Edmonds United Methodist Church. Even donations of homegrown summer produce are down, volunteers report.

School supplies represent another challenge for many local families. The list that for some holds the promise of pens of many colors is for others a reminder of what they won’t have on the first day of school.

Several Edmonds schools with many families at and below poverty levels partner with area retailers, service providers and churches for the collection and distribution of supplies for students who cannot afford them.

A call to area office-supply stores can yield information on how and where to donate supplies. Westgate Chapel and Edgewood Baptist Church in Edmonds also will accept donations of new school supplies and personal-hygiene items.

Clothes for Kids, where volunteers understand the importance of youngsters looking like they “belong” even if they don’t feel like they do, accepts and distributes school supplies in addition to new and gently used clothing.

Whether or not you believe that to whom much is given much is required, don’t take a break this summer from helping neighbors in need and the organizations that serve them.