I'm ringing the bell in four one-hour shifts this week for the Salvation Army in front of the local Wal-Mart. If I catch anyone trying to walk away with the donation bucket, then I've got a rather exceptional sense of retribution. Let's just say that anyone that tries to steal from a cause like that is going to look pretty funny going to the hospital with my foot about a meter up their ass!

The Write-Start program is something that is semi-local, and is something that I've been helping out with since being in college. My old Writing Prof. gets a group of students together every fall to help raise money for a group of extremely poor kids. We take the money and buy them books that are needed in their school. We also make an effort to get them all at least one christmas present. We are talking about kids that are so poor that they have never set foot within a McDonalds, let alone celebrated a proper Christmas. Last year we made sure to get them all gloves as well, because their teacher said that not a single one of them had gloves. You should have seen the kids reactions to the gloves, as well as to the books that we got them. It was a comfortable temp. in the room that we spent the day in with the kids, but most of them put the gloves on, and kept them on for the whole day! You see, after we present the kids with their "presents," we put on a workshop for their benefit in the area of Grammar. We spend the day helping them with their writing and comprehension skills. We always take photos and then later we transform them into a powerpoint. Afterwards, we invite all of those that donated to the cause to come up and watch the powerpoint. Last year, there was not a dry eye in the room at the end. A few that just donated last year are going to actually come with us this year.

I'll keep you all posted as to the progress of the fundraising. What are you all planning to do this season? Please share, even if it is just to spend time at home with what family you have, even if that family is just a pet. Remember, family is not limited to who you share blood with, but who you share a bond with. Happy holidays, and go out and give out seasons beatings!