Columnist Susan Snyder: Charities could use leftovers

Susan Snyder's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at [email protected] or 259-4082.

Ah, the day after.

For some people this is the day of many happy returns (and a few unhappy ones).

It's the day we search the garage for a place to store that Stairmaster Santa left behind (yeah, he should talk).

It's a day of leftover ham, the resolve to diet and sales, sales sales.

It's also the day the bottom drops out for the social service agencies we support so well from Thanksgiving through Christmas.

"There's a season of need, and it has no end date," said Allan Johnson, development director for Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada.

"On Dec. 26 we still have people in line at the Lied Dining Facility to get food. We still have lines at social services," he said.

People still will face overdue power bills, unemployment, health problems and all the other daily frustrations of a hand-to-mouth existence.

During the holidays, Johnson said his agency has no trouble getting donations and volunteer help. The week before Christmas he turned away people who called wanting to serve food at the Lied center on Christmas Day. The place already was booked.

"But we told them we serve meals 365 days a year, and we could use volunteers all year long," he said. "We serve 1,500 people a day."

Some people agreed to work other days. Some did not. For some people, it seems, the spirit of the season is packed away with the tinsel and ornaments until next year.

"We never have to look for volunteers for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners," Sumner Dodge, Salvation Army spokesman, said. "Sometimes we have as many volunteers as people we're serving. It's frustrating. We could use those people to help us during the year."

The Salvation Army served 385,000 free meals last year and assisted more than 85,000 people. But the food drives that go full-throttle in November and December hit the brakes after New Year's Day, Dodge said.

"You get into January, and we get no donations at all. Very rarely do we get any food drives in January, February, March or April. People are kind of on charity overload," he said.

In Canada, today is Boxing Day. According to information culled from a handful of Internet sites, Boxing Day started in England during the mid-1800s as a day when the wealthy filled boxes with money and gifts for their servants and tradespeople. The poor also went door-to-door with boxes. Townspeople filled the boxes with food, clothing and gifts.

According to the information posted by a Canadian, Boxing Day now typically is spent shopping for post-Christmas bargains or relaxing at home with friends and family.

But maybe it's not such a bad idea to adopt a new tradition by borrowing an old one from another country.

"There are signs the economy may get shaky here in Nevada," Dodge said. "Next year's going to be busy for us."

Many of those who will need the most help are people working two or three jobs and sharing apartments with other families in hopes of keeping roofs over their heads, Johnson said.

"We wish we could go out of business," he said. "But we can't. The need in this town is unbelieveable."

To help Catholic Charities, call 385-2662. Call the Salvation Army at 870-4430.

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