Remember when a 9.1 percent unemployment rate seemed high?
That would have been a year ago in the city of Racine, which saw its unemployment rate in February 2009 climb to 15.6 percent. That's a lot of workers. There's a good chance you know somebody who's out of work and looking for a way to support their family or keep a house.
We like to stay positive on the Post, but these numbers are bleak. So let's try and doing something. The Food Bank is an invaluable resource to the community and can always use donations. You can always try out our silly little "mayoral betting" game we've got going, but more important is to keep giving despite the tough times.
I also heard an interesting story last weekend from a woman who frequents second-hand shops. She said donations are way down and the selections are pretty bad. It makes sense. If people aren't buying new things, odds are they're not thinking about giving their old things away.
But we all have old clothing, furniture, home goods, etc. that are gathering dust somewhere. So when you get to your spring cleaning, try to make a point and get items over to Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul's or other second-hand stores.
The same goes for donations to nonprofits, churches and schools. We can go two ways in a tough time: retreat and isolate, or share and connect. Since we're all in this together, we might as well try the sharing route.
Instead of giving to a second hand store who resell your items, give to the non-profits who have the "have it give it, need it take it" policy. Two excellent organizations in which have partnered recently with this policy are Araya Hope Relief Foundation and House Full of Grace. Our inventory is low and the need list is long. Please help your fellow citizens and contact arayahoperacine@gmail.com if you would like to donate unneeded household items. We accept everything except clothing. Furniture, appliances, bedding, towels, etc... Receipts are available for your donations. Thank you!
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