Charities in this area — and there are plenty of them — get frequent publicity, because it’s necessary to remind the public that all these institutions and organizations can only do their good works if residents do their share as well.
As dedicated as the volunteers and leadership of these groups might be, their efforts will come to naught without the participation of the public.
That’s why it’s good to see a little operation like the Church Mouse in Berlin doing so well this holiday season.
Helen Wiley, who runs the shop as an outreach for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, put it best when she said that the thrift shop’s success is a tribute to the kindness of the people of Berlin.
It truly is, just as the success of the multiple charities in this county reflects well on the thousands of residents and businesses who give regularly, especially this time of the year.
And there are plenty of places to do that. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, 82 outright charities, as well as organizations that also do charitable works as part of their mission, have filed returns with the Internal Revenue Service in the past few years.
They represent only a slice of the total giving that involves the more than 300 registered nonprofits in Worcester County, as well as all the impromptu fund drives and appeals that take place during the course of the year.
Contrary to property tax statistics that put Worcester in the top tier of wealthy counties, its per capita income, as calculated by the state, lands it in the 13th spot. Even then, those numbers are skewed by the more affluent — if that’s even correct as compared to towns on the western shore — northern half of the county. Yet, Worcester goes beyond other areas in terms of charitable giving.
In December, the Church Mouse distributed $6,000 to other charities and services in the county. That’s not an overwhelming amount of money in today’s world, but it came through the help of many people for whom every dollar counts. And that says a great deal about who we are.