Gift Guide	Give Them Your Best All Year Round by Buck Quigley

Artistic turkeys at Albright-Knox, from the Food Bank of WNY's 2007 fundraising calendar.

In this season of giving thanks among family and friends, many of us become filled—not only with turkey and stuffing, potatoes and cranberry sauce, string beans with almonds and warm, buttery rolls, pies and sweets of all varieties—but also with the spirit of giving back. Some of us feel briefly compelled to do so much more. The holidays trigger a spike in volunteerism that is lacking the rest of the year.

This means that most large charitable agencies are overwhelmed with volunteers on Thanksgiving Day, as well as on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve. With this in mind, if when calling a charitable organization you find they have all their volunteer needs met on those days, be open to asking about another day on which they may need help. There may be an upcoming event before or after the holidays on which they’re understaffed. The spirit of giving always feels good no matter what the date is on the calendar. “These places need and appreciate help everyday, all year ’round.” says Anne Julian, Agency Services Manager at the Food Bank of WNY.

There are also many other ways to help. One of the easiest is to buy the 2007 calendar produced by the Food Bank. The calendar features images of the Food Bank’s hunger-fighting toy turkeys in well-known area locales captured by noted local photographers who donated their talents to the project. According to Polla Milligan, Development Assistant at the Food Bank, “Every penny of it benefits the food bank thanks to sponsors who paid for the printing.” Calendars can be obtained online for a $10 donation at www.foodbankwny.org.

If you want to help in a hands-on fashion, there are still many days throughout the season and all year long where your assistance will be genuinely appreciated. What follows is a list of soup kitchens in Buffalo that are frequently looking for volunteers. A phone call might help you find the charitable outlet you seek:

During the holidays many of the elderly in nursing homes can also benefit from the help and simple camaraderie that volunteers can provide. Here a good course of action would be to contact the nursing homes directly to see what kind of assistance might be needed.

Currently, 2,300 individuals serve as volunteers for Meals on Wheels for Western New York. In Buffalo, however, less than 60 percent of their meal-delivery routes are being covered by volunteers. This leaves the rest to be covered by full or part-time staffers, increasing costs for the organization. Year-round, they are looking for volunteers to deliver meals in their own neighborhoods. Working in conjunction with churches and businesses, volunteers can help as little as one hour per day, one day a week to make a real difference in the lives of appreciative homebound elderly and disabled individuals. For more information, visit www.mealsonwheelswny.org.

As the first Thanksgiving was a feast among immigrants and Native Americans, another organization, Journey’s End Refugee Services, works to help individuals who have fled their homelands. Their mission is to welcome refugees to Western New York without regard to ethnic origin or creed and to assist them to become healthy, independent, contributing members of the community. Their website is www.jerswny.org. Obviously, this is another year-round opportunity.

If you would like more information about volunteering, visit the United Way’s Web site—www.uwbec.org—and click on Volunteer Opportunities. On average there are more than 130 local not-for-profit agencies listing their volunteer needs and contact information throughout the year with the United Way, which helps to steer the community’s charitable impulses toward those institutions which need help the most.

Also, for the culturally minded, another way to help directly is to donate a fresh or frozen turkey to the Food Bank of Western New York. Anyone doing so at their 91 Holt Street address, or at any Anderson’s Frozen Custard location, will receive a free ticket to any upcoming show at the Kavinoky Theatre this season. Just let the receiving party know you’re dropping it off for the Kavinoky’s “Tickets for Turkeys Drive” and you’ll be given a receipt redeemable at the theatre box office.

Don’t forget also that charity begins at home—or close to it—and requires no formal link to any organization. In all likelihood there are neighbors nearby who would welcome your company and help. Checking on elderly or disabled neighbors who live alone can be a door to another world for both parties, and can strengthen the fabric of any neighborhood.

ONE MAN’S FEAST

For more than 35 years, Friends of the Night People has been serving meals and providing essential support services on a daily basis to the homeless, destitute and working poor of our community. The nonprofit group receives no funding from the government, and instead relies on contributions from area businesses, schools, churches and individuals—as well as the collaborative efforts of many organizations—notably the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, Neighborhood Legal Services, and Crisis Services. They also receive essential help from the Food Bank of Western New York in the form of donated and discounted foods.

Artvoice is offering readers some elaborate recipes for the holiday season in these pages. Here’s what’s on the menu at Friends of the Night People this Thanksgiving between 1 and 3pm:

Turkey

Sweet potato (depending upon availability)

Potatoes

Vegetable (to be determined)

Salad

Pumpkin pie

Coffee

Juice

Water