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I've been blessed most of my life with neighbors that care about others, even strangers. So I learned when I was young how to help others without making them feel obligated or insulted. Whenever there was a huge snow all the kids were taught to gather the snow around the cars first for snowmen and snowball fights. When there were leaves to be raked we'd always ask for permission to rake them into our own yards. The more leaves the bigger the pile to jump in. It doesn't sound like much but sometimes just knowing there's one less chore can ease a burden.

One neighborhood I lived in was very poor but everyone worked together to make sure there wasn't hardly an unmet need. It wasn't really organized yet it seemed to be. One man needing a suit for a job interview found one folded on his front porch by the door. Many would go to the church food pantry for extras at the end of the month. Then rather than keep items they knew no one in their family would eat they'd share it with others. If one knew of some place that could help they would tell someone who needed to know.

I've found if your heart is in the right place things just seem to come together. I lived in this trailer park where a man with three kids moved in. His wife had abandoned all of them taking all their legal documents with her. The landlord allowed him to move in and work off the rent in odd jobs until he could get all the paperwork he needed to be able to work, enroll his kids in school and everything else that's needed when you're starting over from scratch. He couldn't even get welfare and food stamps for the children until he could provide their birth certificates. Gossip of his circumstances went around the neighborhood. But in this case it was to help. Someone paid the former renter's electric bill so it wouldn't be shut off. Another person dropped off coats and clothing. Still another dropped off a christmas tree with all the lights and decorations. There were gift certificates dropped in his mail box and boxes of food left on his porch. Not a single person had revealed themselves. In fact some of them had dropped things off at night, rang the bell and took off. If you don't know who gave it you can't feel obligated beyond being a better neighbor yourself. That one was the best Christmas ever for everyone involved.

There are even simpler ways to help that don't cost a thing. Whenever there is a really good sale at the store I have several neighbors that I call to tell them about it and they do the

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