Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 1, 1994                   TAG: 9412010065
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A18   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CHARITIES

What was unusual was not the number served - Roanoke-area people who are homeless, down on their luck; many who have shelter and jobs but are struggling, and might otherwise have had to eat Thanksgiving dinner from a can. The unusual thing this year was that the Salvation Army had to buy nearly all that it fed its guests, because food donations are dramatically down.

Mailed contributions of funds to the Salvation Army, in what's traditionally the peak giving season, have also been below expectations thus far - and this story is echoed by officials at other local charitable organizations. (Not all; the Rescue Mission says it's seeing no drop-off.)

The charities aren't yet panicking, even though for many it's make-or-break time for meeting budgets, and in some cases for survival in January and February when the flow of donations typically dries to a trickle. But they are concerned at what appears to be a national trend: Americans tending to give less to charitable causes, despite an upbeat economy, and despite no letup or any foreseeable letup in the needs that charities meet.

A recent survey by Independent Sector, an umbrella group for hundreds of charitable organizations, mirrored the local situation: Nationwide this year, people are giving less of their money, and volunteering less of their time, than during the harsh recession of the late '80s and early '90s.

This may suggest charities share one of President Clinton's problems: No matter how many signs point to sustainable economic recovery, many people, at a very personal level, feel insecure about the economic future and remain in a mood of ``me first'' retrenchment.

This mood probably helped drive midterm elections that installed a Congress intent on dismantling big stretches of the safety net under the poor. No problem, say GOP leaders. Charities and volunteers can fill in the gaps.

They can't, not entirely. They couldn't in Charles Dickens' day. They can't in Newt Gingrich's. A food basket is no substitute for the dignity of a job, a decent place to live, and the right kind of health care and education for youngsters.

But charities can, must, help. And despite occasional ebbs in giving, we are not stingy. On the contrary, Americans are among the most generous of peoples. When those in Western Virginia understand the needs of their neighbors, they rally to help.

So understand: We have neighbors who are hungry and hurting.