It was a bit of a downer this week to learn that local support for such things as the Salvation Army Kettle and mail out campaigns and the Angel Tree campaign were lagging in comparison with last year.
But then we also have to realize, like we did with this year's ambitious United Way fundraising target, the community may not have infinite wealth at its disposal all the time. There just may be some limits to the charitable gift giving.
If this is the case, well, the Energy City is not alone.
According to the Fraser Institute, charitable giving is down right across Canada this year and was last year as well.
In fact, there has been a general downward trend to Canadian's donation pace since 2005.
On the whole, Canadians give 0.64 per cent of their total income to charities now compared with 0.81 per cent seven years ago. That's a decrease of $23 billion.
Across the provinces, Manitobans are the most generous with just under 26 per cent of the tax filers claiming charitable donations on their tax returns. The least generous on that scale are from New Brunswick at 20.7 per cent.
On the combined income scale, Manitoba was still the most generous with 0.89 per cent of their income going into the donation pots while Quebec contributed the least at 0.30 per cent.
When it came to the average dollar value, Alberta led the way with $2,321 while Quebec brings up the rear at $655. The national donation average is $1,519.
Across the United States and Canada, counting up 64 jurisdictions, we find that the Americans are far more generous on the donation front. Utah leads the way for all the states and provinces, and our Canadian leader, Manitoba, doesn't check in until No. 35. Alberta and Saskatchewan tie for 45th place while Nunavut has the distinction of being last on the jurisdictional scale.
As noted in this week's article on the slow down of support for the Angel Tree, organizers of this charity drive are bang on in their assessments. In most cases, single parent families, or others who struggle financially every month, can usually find a way to make their way through the first 11 months of the year. December can be a challenging month though for those on fixed incomes or forging through on minimum wages.
Even the most modest Christmas season treats will come with a price of $100 to $300. That may be a drop in the bucket for those making $40,000 or $80,000, but for those struggling with gross incomes of under $30,000, and there are quite a few in our city, that extra $200 spent on making Christmas something worthwhile for the kids, translates into another bill not being paid, which can very easily cause a negative financial chain reaction that could take several months to rectify.
Putting a smile on the face of a child sometimes comes at a greater cost to others, and we must all be aware of that fact. And often that child, who needs to smile, lives in Estevan.
Let's remember that as we head into the home stretch of the Yuletide season.
