The spirit of giving

More troubling than news of layoffs and economic collapse are thoughts of follow-up stories next year and beyond, as media report on displaced families and broken lives.
Hanesbrands Inc. will close two plants in Eden and a warehouse in Rockingham County as part of layoffs involving 8,100 workers worldwide. More than 700 local workers will be out of work. General Tobacco Co. will cut 31 jobs from its Mayodan plant, trimming its workforce to 95 full-time employees.
Those examples are just from Rockingham County – in the past few months alone. Anyone with access to a newspaper, TV, radio or the Internet need not be reminded of the mass layoffs happening throughout the country, the low light coming this week when Citigroup announced more than 50,000 job cuts.
A quick news search Tuesday morning found this from The Associated Press: “A sharp drop in demand for nylon has forced the layoff of more than 300 workers, or about one-third of the work force, at Solutia Inc.’s Greenwood, S.C., plant.”
Today’s headlines, and correctly so, focus on layoffs, bailouts and general economic collapse. Many of the affected workers will find new jobs, though some will not. Some convenience stores are getting 100 resumes for every opening, so what does that mean for the 50,000 people left out of work at Citigroup?
Where, we ask, are these people going to go? Will they keep their homes? Will they continue to have the means to provide for their families?
Coincidentally, this grave economic news comes before the holiday season, when charities, food banks and even merchants gather en masse asking us to open our hearts to the less fortunate by donating food, clothes and money. In the spirit of giving, we comply.
But we must extend that spirit beyond the holidays and throughout the year. The giving can’t stop when the decorations are again relegated to the attic; it must continue in February, July and September. After all, we are part of one large community. And if a community cannot take care of its people, then that community ceases to exist.