Troubling trend

Talk about bah, hum-burglers!
I think there should be a very special naughty list on Santa’s radar for folks who prey upon the goodwill of others this time of year. I’ve never been able to relate to what thieves are thinking when they steal anything, for that matter, but when you go out of your way to divert hard-earned cash toward your own pockets from someone who is trying to offer some holiday cheer you’ve sunk to a new low.
A report this week from the Nebraska Attorney General’s office caught my attention, and not in a good way. It seems the “Season of Giving” has become a “Season of Scamming” in today’s online world, with bad guys and girls manipulating emotions to solicit donations to fraudulent charities.
Some callers are reportedly posing as Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs officials, asking for donations to help men and women who have served our country in an effort to supposedly support deserving charities. This scam is offensive on so many levels it boggles the mind how anyone could cook up this bogus goodwill scheme and still sleep at night, or spend their ill-gotten gains with a clear conscience. 
That’s just one of many examples, unfortunately. There is now a checklist for avoiding charity scams on the Nebraska AG’s website, a holiday resource which I’m quite sure didn’t exist until more recently. Bah humbug, indeed.
Fortunately, that’s not the news of the day here in Hamilton County. 
I read about the growth in holiday scamming trend just hours after seeing how genuine and special the act of giving can be and what an impact it can have on people’s lives. That juxtaposition left me feeling both frustrated and hopeful.
The Hamilton County Food Pantry offers a year-round story of giving and receiving, but Saturday’s special holiday distribution was especially powerful. I wrote a story just a few weeks ago about how challenging it has become for some families to put food on the table in light of rising prices and economic woes, which is putting a strain on the food pantry itself. People responded.
It’s one thing to write a story about this growing need right here in my own hometown, but it’s something else entirely to join a group of volunteers on a frigid Saturday morning as they hand out sacks of groceries and encouraging words to people who need a helping hand.
There were tears in some eyes as recipients unloaded a holiday meal or two worth of groceries into their vehicles. One woman shared that she may not have been able to prepare a holiday meal for her family of eight without such generous donors, while another nice lady said she is paying it forward now a few years after being on the receiving end of support from the food pantry, which got her through some dark days.
Every person you talk to is thankful for the food, appreciative of the community’s goodwill, and openly emotional about the impact such a selfless act of giving can have, especially this time of year.
That’s what the “Season of Giving” should look and feel like. 
So a word to the wise: Be careful how you give, but don’t let the tainted motives of a few troubled souls diminish your goodwill spirit.
-- Kurt Johnson