People with giving hearts

Fresh off an enjoyable Thanksgiving with family and friends, many of us were able to turn our attention toward Christmas — and shopping — with visions of yet more joy dancing in our heads.

Not so for many of our neighbors across the Palmetto State. ... Many of our fellow citizens are fretting over how they’ll heat their homes, pay their rent or — worst of all — buy their food. In a state where unemployment is at 12.1 percent, the need is much greater than in years past. If those who are more fortunate don’t help, some child won’t eat and some family will be homeless or sitting in a cold, dark apartment — at Christmas and beyond.

As we make our lists and check them twice, let’s remember those in need. In this season of giving, be intentional in your giving. ... Set aside some money now to help make someone else’s Christmas — and life — a little bit better.

Perhaps nothing illustrates how great the need is than the fact that so many struggle to put food on the table: The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that from 2006 to 2008, 13.1 percent of our fellow South Carolinians lived in households that regularly struggled to put enough food on the table. Many can’t afford healthy or adequate diets. More than 5 percent of South Carolina households frequently cut back on or skip meals, including meals for children.

When it comes to helping families have the necessary food, Harvest Hope Food Bank is as good at it as anyone. But the food bank’s success depends on just how willing the surrounding community is to give. The organization, which supplies food to more than 300 charitable agencies and organizations throughout central South Carolina, needs all the help it can get. For every $1 donated, it can distribute 10 pounds of food. ...

During this tough economy, Harvest Hope has seen demand for food escalate and it’s working to raise funds to meet the need. ... No gift is too large or too small. ...

Fortunately, our community is teeming with people with giving hearts. Columbia ranks as one of the 10 most charitable cities in the country, according to a Men’s Health magazine ranking, which focuses on giving during the holiday season.

Let’s live up to that reputation. Give.

The (Columbia) State

Taking on the texting challenge

This week marked the beginning of a well-deserved ban in North Carolina on sending text-messages while driving, a practice so dangerous that state lawmakers should be fighting it with every tool at their disposal.

The risk of a crash is 23 times greater while a driver is texting, according to a recent Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study. Texting causes drivers to avert their eyes from the road for full five-second intervals, during which time at highway speed they cover the length of a football field.

The N.C. ban has a $100 penalty that can reach $230 with fines for anyone caught sending or reading a text message while the car is in motion, though checking the phone while stopped at a light is OK.

South Carolina has no such ban, though several bills have been proposed. One would allow police to search phones for evidence of texting during traffic stops. Crashes involving texting would incur jail time and steep fines. Another bill would make cell phone use a liability factor in crash lawsuits. Any bill that discourages the practice will help.

Texting is an easy legislative target because it still has a relatively small constituency. Studies have shown that talking on the phone while driving, even on headsets, is also dangerous, taking drivers’ minds off the road and increasing the likelihood of a crash to that of a drunken driver.

We hope lawmakers will soon show the courage to take on this dangerous practice as well.

The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News