There’s nothing like the holiday season from Thanksgiving to Christmas to bring out the open-handed generosity of people here toward those who are in need, and it’s always heartwarming to see the community’s response.

December always sees the peak of charitable giving, partly driven by that holiday spirit and partly driven by the need for tax deductions. It’s sad to say, but experts point out that charity really dries up after the New Year every year.

What’s different this year is that the number of people needing help is greater, even at a time when the number of people who feel they can give that help seems to be shrinking. More than that, more than ever the need for help will not be less after Christmas – folks will need help in January and beyond.

The Wilkes County unit of the Salvation Army, which helps local families in need, says that requests for help are at an all-time high, and requests are coming from people who have never asked for help before. Families in which one or both of the breadwinners are out of work come asking not for toys, but for enough money to keep the lights and heat on. Contributions, however, are down, and the local unit volunteers are worried that they won’t be able to meet all the needs.

As an indicator of how much worse off people are, the number of people getting food stamps in Wilkes County has increased by 26 percent since 2007, with more than four out of ten children here being fed by the federal government, using tax money paid by fewer and fewer taxpayers. That shows that it’s not just the usual multi-generational welfare consumers needing food stamps, but a growing number of formerly working families who’ve had to swallow their pride and ask for help for the first time. Now 22 percent of people in Wilkes County get food stamps, and the rest of us struggle to pay our taxes.

With that burden, it’s not surprising that folks who were always willing and able to help their neighbor in the past are still willing, just not as able now. They want to help, but are on the edge of needing help themselves.

Some families I’ve heard from, however, are taking a different approach to Christmas this year. They’re really taking hold of the reason for the season and are sacrificially giving to help others, working with their families on a plan to help neighbors in need even if it means fewer gifts under their own tree. “My kids are at that age when they’re starting to recognize that we’re really blessed, and that other families aren’t,” one mom said, “so they’re getting excited about giving for the first time rather than just getting. They say this is going to be the best Christmas ever.”

I remember that one of the biggest surprises I had growing up and becoming a father was how much more joy I got from being on the giving end rather than the getting end. We’ve always been told that it’s more blessed to give than to receive, and there’s no better time to put that scriptural truth into action than now.

Let’s all reach out and help somebody this Christmas. If you don’t know exactly how to help, the Salvation Army’s familiar red kettles are a good place to start, and they need all the help we can give right now.