Happy Thanksgiving.
Even in this tough economic year, each of us must be willing to give thanks for many blessings in life. So much is taken for granted in our nation and community that Thanksgiving Day should be a time to pause and reflect and see the bigger picture.
But a big part of that picture this year is that our community safety nets need more donations than usual. Many people who do not normally need help now find themselves in a bad way.
Between now and Christmas, The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette will try to help readers see those people. We will share stories of the hardships people in our community are facing and offer readers a way to make a difference through personal donations.
The Packet will renew its annual holiday fundraising campaign to help The Deep Well Project, a private, local social services agency. We again will feature front-page stories about real lives and how Deep Well helps people get through difficult times.
The Gazette will tell readers how they can help others in the community through Operation Holiday Heroes.
Operation Holiday Heroes provides toys and food for a long list of families at Christmas. With a 60 percent increase in requests this year, Operation Holiday Heroes needs help to meet the overwhelming need in our county, whether it is a donation of cash or a donation of new toys.
Operation Holiday Heroes is a collaborative effort among the United Way of the Lowcountry, Toys for Tots and other agencies and groups, such as The Salvation Army, Beaufort County Department of Social Services, Bluffton Self Help, Deep Well, Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, Junior Service League of Beaufort, the Gazette and the Packet.
The goal is to make sure every child has presents under the tree to open Christmas morning. Donors can adopt a child for Christmas, businesses can ask employees to bring in one unwrapped gift each and civic organizations can provide a cash donation.
Deep Well plays a unique role in our community. Its personal touch started with founder Charlotte Heinrichs, who never waited for someone else to do what needed to be done.
Within a year of her arrival on Hilton Head Island in the late 1960s, the retired public health nurse discovered serious health problems in island children, including parasites in their intestinal systems. The government wanted to treat them with pills, but she knew the problem needed to be attacked at its source. She started a movement to get deep wells for safe drinking water.
Heinrichs' story and the story of Deep Well deserve to be retold each year. She exemplifies charity in its most positive incarnation -- respectful and practical, with no unnecessary frills and no need for public notice to make the job worthwhile.
Together, we can help Operation Holiday Heroes and The Deep Well Project meet their unprecedented demand this year. Together, we can be sure that everyone in town has something to be thankful for.
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