Thankful for the giving

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It’s a time for turkey, or turkey leftovers if you’re reading this later in the week. It’s also a time to review Black Friday circulars and make lists, or to head to work and stock shelves so the stores are ready for the rush of doorbusters that signal the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

There’s so much more to the season than the scurry to make lists and shop and cook and clean to be ready for one big day when the presents and the food are quickly consumed. It’s about giving and about learning to accept help.

More so than any other time during the year, our thoughts turn to those who are less fortunate and to those who make it their work to help people. There are so many efforts to reach out: from Toys for Tots collections organized by community groups, to Operation Holiday Cheer that delivers a hometown touch to our military men and women stationed away from Rhode Island, to Giving Tuesday, which encourages people to make donations to their favorite causes.

By no means are these efforts limited to organizations, or to the time of year. Debbie Thornton, who was burned out of her Oakland Beach home recently, discovered firsthand how caring and generous people are. As she and her family watched firefighters quell the blaze that started on her front porch, a total stranger came up to her with a new leash and food for the family dog that sounded the alarm. Another showed up with Burger King meals for the family and a case of bottled water.

The outpouring of support is more than any of them expected. An online campaign to raise funds was started. People sought the family out with offers of housing and to provide all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner.

The Thorntons helped start Care Squared Rhode Island, a group that sews squares to be made into quilts given to the homeless. Some of those squares were saved from the fire, but unfortunately they smell of smoke and will probably have to be discarded. They plan to make more squares. The Thornton family are givers.

As Debbie’s daughter, Jonie, observed, “It is much easier to be on the giving end. It’s emotional on the receiving end.”

Even though the country is still divided over the outcome of the election, so many are united to provide help for those in need. It’s a quality that has always made America great. May we all, this season, be generous in receiving the gifts bestowed on us and find ways to help others, whether that's helping family in need or finding the forbearance to listen to relatives whose politics are diametrically opposed to our own.

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