Honor the Christmas spirit all the year
Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge, after his long night of spooky visits, declares on Christmas morning, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
The Christmas season may be officially over now, with Epiphany signifying the end of the 12 days of Christmas, but we can still benefit by keeping the Christmas spirit year round. At Centenary Methodist Church’s Epiphany service, Tim Bagwell noted that once the holiday decorations are packed away, we are all too ready to jump to the next holiday.
As we carry out our New Year’s resolutions, we can honor the lessons of Christmas — peace on earth and goodwill to all — in our hearts all the year.
This community has an incredible number of people who work for the greater good of those in need. Here’s a small selection of the organizations that can benefit from your giving spirit all year round.
Loaves and Fishes Ministry: Serving and improving the quality of life for the poor and the homeless.
Macon Outreach at Mulberry: Reaching out to the hungry and the hurting.
Centenary Community Ministries Inc.: Finding solutions to specific needs that arise from within our community
The Mentor’s Project of Bibb County: Working to steer students away from drugs, crime and dropping out of school.
Action of Love: Formed to show love and caring for those who may feel forgotten, and to remind them that every life is worthy of love.
Macon Area Habitat for Humanity: Seeking to eliminate substandard housing by building decent, affordable home.
Daybreak: A resource center that provides Macon’s homeless population with critical services, all in one place.
Communities in Schools of Central Georgia: Determining student needs and providing resources.
The ARC Macon: Serving the needs of those with developmental disabilities.
Middle Georgia Food Bank: Providing the maximum amount of food possible at the lowest possible cost to reach the maximum number of needy people by salvaging surplus food.
Macon Volunteer Clinic: Providing free medical and dental care, as well as medication assistance to uninsured, working adults.
Crisis Line & Safe House of Central Georgia Inc.: A domestic violence service providing help for people dealing with domestic abuse.
River Edge Behavioral Health Center: Providing prevention, treatment and support services for those experiencing mental illness, addiction, co-occurring disorders or developmental disabilities.
This is just a small fraction of charities in Middle Georgia. If you haven’t already, please read fellow columnist Larry Fennelly’s extensive list of arts organizations that also would benefit from your generosity. Find it on macon.com by searching “gifting others.”
Leila Regan-Porter is the administrative assistant at the Otis Redding Foundation, the marketing co-chair for Bragg Jam and president of the Main Street Macon board. Follow her on Twitter @theleila.com or email her at leila@theleila.com.
This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 7:41 AM with the headline "Honor the Christmas spirit all the year."