Give Someone A Helping Hand by Jimmy Purdon, 11th grade

Everyone knows that there are less fortunate people and families out there, but have you ever thought how close they may be? Possibly a next door neighbor, someone living across the street, down the road, or other side of town or a neighboring town. The point is, there are families in our small community and neighboring ones that could use a helping hand.

You can help someone in many ways by donating: clothing, food, personal hygiene items, blood, money, and toys. The good news is that no one in Hughes Springs has to travel far to do any of these things. You can give a child the gift of Christmas by donating to any of the toy drives around, including Toys for Tots, which is set up at many locations, or by picking a list from the Angel Tree set up at City Hall and providing the items on that list.

Clothing can be as simple as giving a coat to any of the annual coat drives, or by contacting a local church to see if they distribute clothing to those who need it. Donating food is by far one of the easiest things to do. There are many food drives around during the holiday season including the one here at our high school. If you want to donate food, but may have missed one of the drives, you can always give to a local food bank such as the one at City Hall.

The one way to help that may most directly save someone’s life is donating blood; this can be accomplished at any of the numerous blood drives our school hosts throughout the year.

These aren’t the only ways to help out. You can always contact a shelter; don’t be shy about asking what they need at this time, or if they are seeking volunteers at the time.

These are just a few of the ways you can help out others in your community, and I encourage everyone to find a way that best suits you in helping others. Do not forget that it could be anyone that needs help including, one of your child’s classmates, a coworker, or that person you don’t know but will still appreciate your help.