Good works begin at home (and in your neighborhood)

Budgets are tight this holiday season, and the number of people in need in the community greater than ever. But you don’t need a lot of money to make a difference. Here, some of our favorite ideas for doing good:

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PARTY WITH A PURPOSE

Throwing a neighborhood holiday party?

Have it perform double-duty to benefit a local cause.

For potluck dinners, have everyone double their recipes — then drop off extra dishes at homes of elderly residents living alone in and around your neighborhood.

Invite neighborhood kids to the house for cookies and cocoa during Thanksgiving break. Set up a craft area where they can make holiday cards to deliver to hospital or long-term care patients.

Have a cookie exchange at your house and ask participants to bring a nonperishable food item for a community food bank.

OUT WITH THE OLD

Most folks get new clothes, toys or gadgets at the holidays.

But finding room for all of it in your closets and storage bins sometimes can be a challenge.

Make things easier on yourself — and, in turn, better for someone in need — by donating things in good condition that you no longer need.

Have books you’ve long since finished? Contact your local library, which may be able to use them for a book sale fundraiser to help library programs.

Have toys or books that your kids have outgrown? Call places like the Ronald McDonald House or Palmetto Place Children’s Emergency Shelter to see whether they might be able to put them to good use.

Are rarely-used blankets just sitting in your closet? A homeless shelter could no doubt put those to use.

AND IN WITH THE NEW

Sure, shopping on the Internet is easy.

But we prefer to shop local businesses, not only to support jobs in our community — so important in these tough economic times — but to connect with the people and businesses who live in our neighborhoods.

Many shopping malls, centers and neighborhood districts make it easy to find gifts — and get into the holiday spirit — with special events.

A Devine Evening, for example, is a holiday open house with merchants along Devine Street, not far from downtown Columbia. Enjoy a night of shopping and special activities offered by some of the street’s businesses. It’s 5-9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4. www.doorsofdevine.net

At Village at Sandhill in Northeast Richland, enjoy twinkling lights while taking a horse-drawn carriage ride. Rides are offered on select dates and times through December, starting today ($2 adults, $1 for ages 12 and under). A complete schedule and other activities: www.villageatsandhillonline.com

And, Five Points is having Festivus, set for Friday through Sunday, Dec. 5-7, which includes merchant specials and activities, plus a treelighting at 7:30 p.m. that Friday (with a Festivus pole) and other offerings. www.fivepointscolumbia.com

BACK TO SCHOOL

Many schools have holiday drives to help community organizations — and it’s a source of great pride among students and faculty.

They offer easy ways to pitch in for community residents.

At Spring Valley High in Richland 2, for example, Winter Days has been an annual holiday service project since 1984, and the entire school and community join in. Individual classes, too, will take on projects. The criminal justice class at Batesburg-Leesville High, for example, is collecting stuffed animals and dolls for hospital patients.

Of course, there are free things you can do to help schools — reading to students, speaking at a career fair, or becoming a lunch buddy.

Or, if you’re looking to help teachers bridge the gap between resources schools provide and what they think their students need, consider DonorsChoose.org, an online resource matching teachers who have creative instructional ideas with philanthropists willing to help.

The program, which launched in South Carolina in 2005, allows teachers to appeal for help by posting an explanation of their objective with the hope someone will step forward with some money. Each teacher's submission is screened before posting.

DonorsChoose is set up so gifts are tax-deductible and givers can designate where their money goes. Log on at www.donorschoose.org.

THE GIFT OF TIME

Time can be scarce these days.

So why not make spending more of it — with friends and family — part of your plans this holiday season?

And, here’s the good part: you can make good works part of it.

If you and other family members like to sew or knit, schedule time to sit together and make something — blankets for veterans at area nursing homes, for example, or for babies in intensive care units at local hospitals.

In lieu of exchanging gifts among friends, make plans to have a meal together, then volunteer for a group shift with a local charity.

If you’re a musically gifted group, sign up for a one- or two-hour slot to play at the Palmetto Health Richland Cancer Center; volunteers are needed through Christmas Day (803) 434-4752.

Or, if your friends love to shop, pick names from one of the area’s many giving trees and fill those wish lists.

Whatever you decide, you’ll no doubt find that doing good for someone else in need will be one of the most rewarding gifts you can give yourself this holiday season.

— Dawn Kujawa