Christmas is a time for giving in the AV

It’s Christmas Eve and that means the big day is tomorrow. Little girls and boys will pen notes and leave cookies and milk out for ‘ol St. Nick tonight, in anticipation of his arrival, which hopefully means they will find gifts under the Christmas tree from that jolly ‘ol elf.

You can track his progress on Christmas Eve, by accessing the Norad Santa Tracker, available at avpress.com or by going directly to www.noradsanta.org.

Though Santa’s busiest day is Dec. 24, Christmas came early for some Antelope Valley youth this year. It seems Santa’s elves were out en force, helping deliver toys and other gifts. Christmas is the season of giving and it was evident that Antelope Valley residents were happy to oblige. The front page of the Antelope

Valley Press has announced charitable efforts for several days. It started shortly after Thanksgiving, when locals began announcing collections for toys, clothing and food to help needy area fam- ilies.

The Monday paper featured two stories on A1 — one about the AVTA delivering toys and other gifts that were collected in their Stuff-a-bus drive that kicked off during the Gobble Wobble in November and one about Eagle Scouts collecting clothing items for students. Probably the most well-known toy drive was featured on A1 of the Sunday newspaper, as Marines distributed the toys they collected in their Toys for Tots drive. SAVES was front and center on Saturday, as volunteers stood in for Santa’s elves and gave away food and toys.

So you see, the AV is full of people who care about each other. We at the AV Press also acted as a drop-off point for toys, as we helped collect them for the CHiPs for Kids Toy Drive. You probably saw the photo of Advertising Executive Jackie Zibble, Publisher Mike McMullin and CHP Officer Monique Mischeaux, featured on the front page of today’s paper. Mischeaux came by yesterday to collect all the toys we collected.

We are lucky to live in an area where there are so many people willing to help those who need it. From folks helping feed the homeless, to providing food for holiday food drives, coats, blankets and clothing for those in need and toys for the little ones, it’s evident that the AV is a very giving community.

But we also need to remember that generosity should not be something we exhibit exclusively for the holidays — and it doesn’t always need to be in the form of goods. Volunteers are almost always needed around town, as well. Whether it’s a food pantry, the hospital or your local library, think about donating a couple hours a week to an organization that needs volunteers.

We run several announcements in the Community News calendar, for organizations or groups that are seeking volunteers. You may just make a new friend or learn something new, but most of all, by volunteering, you’ll be helping a group that needs extra manpower. Think about it. Christmas is a great time to give back to the community, but we should all think about how we can make the community better the rest of the year, too. Merry Christmas, everyone!