This week, Thanksgiving opened the holiday season in America.
Did you know the generally accepted start of this holiday was in November 1627? That’s when newly arrived Pilgrims from England on the Mayflower, who had formed the Plymouth Colony, gathered with local Wampanoag Indians to celebrate their first, good harvest in America.
Tragically, as more and more Pilgrims arrived and encroached on Indian lands, war broke out, and many Indians and Pilgrims were killed.
On Nov. 26, 1789, President George Washington proclaimed this date as a day for Thanksgiving and Prayer. In 1870, Congress passed legislation making the last Thursday in November a public Holiday.
Thanksgiving is a holiday in which every American can fully participate. It is a coming-together time. Family members across the nation travel to their loved ones to celebrate their family connections and the good fortune they have in love and prosperity, at all levels. Regularly, 40-plus million travelers by car and plane gather together for this family holiday.
Part of giving thanks is to the amazing generosity of many Americans.
Did you know that in 2020, Americans donated $471 billion to charities? This was up 5.1% from 2019. Charitable giving increased again in 2021, up to $484.85 billion.
It is reported by the Philanthropy RoundTable that six out of 10 households donate to charity in any given year.
Nonprofit sources estimated that 63% of Americans — 25% of the adult population, volunteer their time, talent and energy toward making a difference.
There are over one million charitable organizations in America. One of them is considered to be among the most efficient and effective in using donations to succor people in need. In 2020, the Salvation Army received $557.3 million in monetary gifts during the Holiday Season, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.
The Salvation Army provides food and shelter and social services to more than 30 million Americans in need through 7,600 shelters. Since the beginning of 2020, they have reached an all-time high of services including 225 million meals, an additional 1.76 million nights of shelter and almost 1 million instances of emotional and spiritual care for individuals in crisis.
There are many, many, other worthy charitable organizations unique to America from the Elks to the Shriners Hospitals for children, St. Jude’s, and many others.
Here in Santa Barbara, we have a number of active charitable organizations serving many people who are in need. Among them is the Santa Barbara chapter of The National Assistance League.
The National Assistance League was first formed by a group of women in Los Angeles in 1919. Another group of women formed the 10th chapter in Santa Barbara in 1948. The league operates in 29 states and has a membership of 24,000-26,000 volunteers devoting 3 million hours a year of their time to serve over 1.5 million people.
The Assistance League of Santa Barbara has approximately 350 members contributing 54,000 hours a year to support and implement 16 philanthropic programs. Their thrift store, on Veronica Springs Road, is filled with buyers every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Their local mission is to provide hands-on support to improve the lives of local, young children, teens, families, seniors, and people with developmental disabilities. It is a remarkable organization of talented, dedicated and hardworking ladies, all so well-organized and productive. It is quite amazing how much merchandise goes through that tiny shop every day it is open. But the real work goes on behind the scenes, where hundreds of donations every day have to be received, inspected, categorized, priced for sale and stocked on the shelves for sale.
Among their 16 programs are “Operation School Bell”, and “Teen School Bell,” where they provide Backpacks and new clothes to more than 2,000 students a year. Their “Fun in the Sun” philanthropy supports the United Way summer enrichment program for elementary school children by providing summer clothing, swimsuits, and towels and by funding part of the summer literacy program.
The most exciting part for the children as they get to choose their own items. We have been told by volunteers how rewarding and uplifting it is to be there to see the children so thrilled to be able to choose.
The thrift store is their primary source of income and 90% of it goes back into the community. This year, they honored a number of students with scholarships through their Scholarship program. This year they gave $70,000 in scholarships! We cannot cover all their good works here. But we must add that they provide a vital amount of support to people with developmental disabilities in kindness and sensitivity.
This column is part of our Thanksgiving celebration in recognizing and giving thanks for both the public generosity and the dedication of so many people in those organizations who work very hard every year to provide for those of all ages among us, who are less fortunate.
Bonnie Donovan writes the “Did You Know?” column in conjunction with a bipartisan group of local citizens. It appears Sundays in the Voices section.
FYI
For more about the Assistance League of Santa Barbara, see assistanceleaguesb.org.
For more about the Salvation Army, see santabarbara.salvation.army.org.
For information about the Santa Barbara Elks lodge, see www.elks.org. For details about the Santa Maria Elks Lodge, see www.santamariaelks.org.
