A BICYCLE FOR How the ARC Is Giving Back to Children in the Community
3 GIFT-GIVING TIPS That Won’t Kill Your Savings Ah, the holidays. It’s a time of sweet treats, family, and giving back — and sometimes giving a little too much. When it comes to the perfect holiday gift, many people spend too much money. The average American spends nearly $1,000 on gifts during the December holidays alone! It’s possible to cut back and make it to January without major debt. Here’s how. Check your list — twice! The list is going to be your secret weapon to tackling the holidays with your savings still intact. Start by writing down the name of every person you’d like to get a gift for. Now, with the exception of your immediate family members, narrow the names down to your top five — top 10 if you’re really popular. Now, place the names of the people who didn’t make the cut into a second list. If you still feel the need to do something for them, send homemade cookies or a handwritten note instead of purchasing something. This limits how much you actually have to spend! Think beyond store-bought or expensive items. Sure, everyone wants this holiday season’s “it” item, but sometimes the best gifts don’t even come wrapped under the tree. Instead, look to your own talents as a clue to what you should give. If you’re a great crafter, create something unique for the people on your list. If you can offer the gift of time, provide a free night of babysitting for your friends with kids or an experience at the local theater. These gifts have a bonus factor: Recipients love the gift when they open it, and they love it when they get to use it! Set a budget — and stick to it. Setting a holiday budget ensures you only spend what you can afford. It also narrows down your search. If you choose to buy your neighbor something, but they aren’t your top priority, set their budget at a lower level, like $25–$50. If you have a sibling who has had a rough year and you’d like to make their holidays a little brighter, bump their budget up. This narrows the focus of what you’re looking for so you don’t stumble into something you can’t afford. Ultimately, it’s the spirit of giving during the holidays that makes them so rewarding. With a little ingenuity, you can be generous and avoid the stress of excess debt come January.
The Christmas season is certainly the most
wonderful time of the year for many children, but for those whose parents may be struggling financially, it can be a time of unfulfilled wishes. For this reason, ARC Empowerment Center in Mansfield, Ohio, came up with the idea of collecting 100 new and gently used bicycles for Christmas to donate to local children who may otherwise not receive many gifts this holiday season.
DASH CAMS: A GREAT HOL This holiday season, when making your wish list for Santa or trying to come up with gift ideas for family and friends, consider a dash cam. The ARC Empowerment Center opened its doors in June 2020 with a mission to give a place of operation to many local community services. Currently, the massive stone building, which was built in 1907, hosts a number of organizations, including Project One, Christian Classical Academy, Addy’s Attic, Rubies Women’s Group, Independent Living
A dash cam is a dashboard camera that’s typically mounted on the front windshield of a vehicle. Dash cams, depending on the make and model,
record both when the vehicle is driving and when it is parked. Many also record audio and connect to smartphones so the user can watch recorded video — much like a home security system. All dash cams turn on automatically and begin recording when the vehicle is in use. Dash cams with parking mode will also record when the vehicle is off and parked. These devices can serve as a virtual witness to incidents and are more reliable than simply recalling an incident from memory. Some insurance companies offer discounts to customers who install a dash cam in their vehicle, and we have handled many cases where dash cam footage helped us solve a dispute about who was at fault in an auto accident.
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