It was nice to see that the Golden Belt Community Foundation’s Giving Tuesday held Nov. 29 went well. The foundation raised over $200,000 to benefit the myriad charitable funds that the organization oversees.

The holiday season is a hectic time of year. There are several entities vying for our financial contributions. The Salvation Army has its red kettles, Farmers Bank and Trust has its Christmas tree benefiting children and the Barton County Association of Churches has its Holiday Gift Basket program.

With all of these, the rest of us still have to do our Christmas shopping, purchase the fixings for holiday meals and plan for travel expenses to visit family. Things can get expensive at home, let alone worry about helping others.

But, sometimes, it is the smallest gifts that mean the most. A few years back, organizers of the Relay for Life of Barton County noted that if they received $1 for every person in the county, it would make a huge impact. That holds true no matter what the cause.

This is also demonstrated through the payroll deduction option available with the United Way of Central Kansas.

But, perhaps just the gift of time can be a big deal. By volunteering to ring bells for the Salvation Army or deliver Meals on Wheels can be as good as gold.

Ultimately, the choice is up to each of us what we opt to do. We can only help where we can.

Dale Hogg