Honolulu Weekly

Working a soup line at Christmas or chipping in at a shelter on Christmas Eve–these are generous acts. What service groups desperately need, however, are more long-range commitments.

This year, consider a “bundled” gift of money and time at a nonprofit whose mission you value.

“There are a lot of institutions that do need help, and it’s more than serving cranberries on Thanksgiving,” Aleck said. “If someone’s willing to make a longer term commitment of time, even if infrequently, it can make a big difference.

“I read a letter the other day where someone had gone to visit a veteran in a VA hospital and realized that most of the vets were not getting any visitors at all. If somebody wants to give a little bit of money to a program for disabled or homeless veterans, that’s great, but then also spend a little bit of time. Go see what kind of help a veteran’s hospital needs. That could be a bundle where you give a onetime gift but the long-term gift of your time has so much more meaning.”