uploaded to Flickr by HeidiElliot
The presents are unwrapped and the trash bin has been emptied. You might have even hit the stores for your exchanges and returns. And now your mind turns to the fun that awaits in 2012. And on the list of worries, the Visa bill is second only to the impending tax bill that might just be headed your way. Thank you Turbo Tax for your flurry of profligate promotions.
So, perhaps rather than hit 8th Street for one more dinner out, or even just another round of rich desserts, take the time, and take out your wallet and make a donation to one of your favorite Capitol Hill charities. A little bit goes a long way in most of these hard-working groups, with their shoestring staffs and long list of initiatives and benefactress. Any of them will tell you that the $25 checks make as much a difference as the bigger ones — but by all means if you have the means to write a large check, please do get out that pen.
A recent comment thread on MOTH (Mothers on the Hill) yielded lots of suggestions, and among some of my favorites are the locally-driven DC Diaper Bank, the Capitol Hill Group Ministry, the Atlas, and Little Lights Urban Ministries, a group dedicated to the inner city youth of Southeast DC, predominently out of Potomac Gardens. The Capitol Hill Community Foundation and the Hill Center also call out for a round of applause and fiscal recognition with educational opportunities they provide to adults and kids alike. And the Folger and the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center. And the list goes on and on.
You get the picture. It’s neighbors that keep these organization afloat, with their time, sweat and certainly their checkbooks. And you’ll get a tax break to boot.