To the editor:

This time of the year, there are many different sights, sounds and smells that remind us of the holiday season. One of my favorites is the sound of the bells that the volunteers ring for the Salvation Army. These volunteers remind us all that this is the season of giving. This year, the giving will be harder for most of us due to the unstable economy. But perhaps the following will help put each person’s situation into perspective.

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of the world. If you have money in the bank, money in your wallet and spare change in your pockets, you are among the top 8 percent of the world’s wealthy.

Keeping these statistics in mind as you pass the bell ringers this holiday season, please reach into those pockets and drop that spare change into the buckets. I’m sure at the end of the day, you’ll hardly miss it. Those on the receiving end, however, will notice. In this way, perhaps next year will be a little brighter for all of us.

Patti Green,

Lawrence