If one of your Christmas wishes is to do a little something to help your neighbors, you have plenty of opportunities in Wilkes County this year - some as soon as this week.

To help neighbors who don't have warm outerwear, a winter clothing drive here is collecting donations of coats, sweaters, hats and gloves to give out next Friday.

"We all have winter outerwear that we don't use, but that others could wear to keep warm this winter," said Salvation Army Director Dr. M.R. Clayton. "Please help us help those who are in need of warm winter wear." Donations will be accepted at the Washington Bi-Lo store and the First United Methodist Church through next Thursday, November 19. Donations carried to the Methodist Church should be left in Wesley Hall, the old fellowship hall.

The outerwear will be distributed the next day, Friday, November 20. One set of outerwear per family member will be distributed free of charge at God's Marketplace from 9 a.m. until noon. The Wilkes County Unit of the Salvation Army, God's Marketplace, and the local Bi-Lo store are sponsoring the drive.

Local annual programs are providing gifts for hundreds of children - here and around the country - who otherwise might be forgotten.

During the week of November 16-20, Baptist churches all over the county are collecting shoe boxes for the Samaritan's Purse program "Operation Christmas Child," which will deliver gifts to needy children all over the U.S. and the world, along with a Christian message. The office of the First Baptist Church in Washington is the local collection point.

The day before Thanksgiving, November 25, ends Restore Galore's dog food drive. Since November 2, the store has been collecting canned and dry dog food, plus puppy food, bleach, old towels, and plastic bowls to provide for the Wilkes County Animal Shelter over the holidays.

For years, Washington's police officers have helped Santa with the department's annual campaign, taking requests and buying gifts for some 250 children in the Washington-Wilkes area. Police volunteers spend weeks organizing the toys to be distributed and assembling bikes for kids who asked for them. The highlight of the year is the annual distribution, handled by Santa himself, to the kids just before Christmas. For more information, contact Asst. Chief Theodosia Glenn at 706-678-3244.

The community Angel Tree program, run by Washington First United Methodist Church, is an outreach to needy children all over the county, with support and participation from many individuals, civic groups, and other churches, said Laura Toburen. "The children that Angel Tree reaches are identified through the schools and other sources as those children who, for various reasons, might not be remembered at Christmas," she said.

To help a needy Wilkes County child have a better Christmas, she said, stop by the First Methodist Church, select an angel or angel family, and register in the signup book. Volunteers will deliver the gifts to the recipients.

Wilkes County seniors won't be forgotten at Christmas, either. The annual "Operation Love and Care in a Shoe Box" brings useful and comforting gifts to neighbors in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, said organizer Margie Burke. "The last few years have gotten better and better, and we hope to take gifts to every single resident of facilities like Washington Manor, Wilkes Health Care Center, Harper's Personal Care Center, and to any others who may be shut-ins in their homes."

Several groups have taken up the Operation Love and Care challenge, already starting to fill shoe boxes with a variety of gifts and necessities for seniors. To take part in filling shoe boxes for seniors, contact Margie Burke at Shoeboxesoflove@ gmail.com.

Patients in Georgia's mental institutions are also remembered at Christmas time. For more than 50 years, the Mayors Motorcade has brought the joy of the holiday season from Georgia cities to patients at Georgia's seven regional mental health and retardation hospitals. The program relies on citizen participation in each city to donate gifts for the patients. According to the hospital staff, many of the patients at these hospitals have lived there most of their lives and have little, if any, support or contact with friends and family.

Donated items from the City of Washington will be delivered to East Central Regional Hospital in Augusta on December 12. Civic organizations, businesses, churches, schools, scout troops, and individual citizens are encouraged to contribute. For more information on how groups can participate, call Mayor Willie E. Burns at 706-678-3277.