The Children's Hour

We can only begin to imagine how hard this holiday season is for the people of Newtown, Conn. While we probably can't do much to make it merry, we can do some things to lighten the load. One is to donate to the local Youth and Family Services organization, which is providing counseling and general emotional support: http://www.newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org/
   The parent of a child at a nearby elementary school has put together a Newtown Memorial Fund. According to the site, the goal is to "provide a memorial to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, and establish academic scholarships in the victims’ names for classmates and generations of Newtown students to come": http://newtownmemorialfund.org/about/
   Cards and letters of condolence can be sent to Message of Condolence, P.O. Box 3700, Newtown, CT 06470.
   And let's not forget the children whose lives were impacted by Super Storm Sandy. Joy Huang and Kimberley Berdy, who saw first-hand the turmoil it brought to families' lives, have put together a website through which you can help make this holiday season happier for an area child: http://secretsandy.org/