‘TIS THE SEASON TO GIVE

Cool weather is in the air and many of you are beginning to decorate homes, hang Christmas lights, shop, and plan for the holiday season. For most of us, it’s a joyous time we look forward to each year and spend with our loved ones.

Unfortunately, that is not the same scenario for some Lake County and Sumter County residents. The winter months and holiday season can be very dismal and depressing. Over the past several years, our community has experienced extremely difficult economic times and has left many of our residents homeless, jobless, and due to their grim circumstances, alone.

Luckily, our community is comprised of givers who are more than willing to lend a hand to those who are in need. I know this because Lake and Sumter has hundreds of nonprofit organizations developed to assist the hungry, the sick, the underprivileged, the homeless, the elderly — and the list goes on.

With this in mind, Healthy Living would like to do our part; therefore, each year we dedicate our December issue to these local charities. We even go as far as changing the name of our magazine to “Healthy Giving.” We encourage our readers to give by including a charity register, which lists some of the areas nonprofit organizations that are in need of donations. Also, this register serves as a resource guide to those who are in need of assistance from these organizations. We list the name, description, volunteer needs, fundraising events, and contact information for each organization. We make it easier for the people who want to assist and the people who are in need of assistance.

If you are among the more fortunate, I would like to personally invite you to choose at least one of these organization and offer some type of aid. It can be time, money, or even non-monetary donations.

After all, the true meaning of the Christmas season is to celebrate Jesus Christ. To me, this means it is a time to offer love, thankfulness, forgiveness, compassion, and understanding to our family, friends, and neighbors. Which is why, for me, it is the season to give.

EDITORIAL // DESIGN

TINA MORRISON editorial/community relations director tina@akersmediagroup.com

MARY ANN D ESANTIS editor-at-large maryann@akersmediagroup.com

SHEMIR WILES copy editor/writer shemir@akersmediagroup.com

JAMES COMBS staff writer james@akersmediagroup.com

HEATHER TOOTLE office manager heather@akersmediagroup.com

SHAENA CHASTAIN receptionist contributing writers

BETTY ARAMINO

RICHARD T. BOSSHARDT, MD, FACS RICHARD BURGUET

ROBERT FROSS

THOMAS FROSS ANNA GUNTER, RD, LD/N FRED HILTON

THOMAS H. RUGGIE, CHFC, CFP

STEVEN J. CODRARO associate creative director steve@akersmediagroup.com

JOSH CLARK senior designer/advertising josh@akersmediagroup.com

ANTHONY CASTO senior designer/editorial anthony@akersmediagroup.com

MICHAEL GAULIN production director michael@akersmediagroup.com

FRED LOPEZ chief photographer fred@akersmediagroup.com

AUBREY AKERS receptionist contributing photographer MORGAN ELLIS HEATHER TOOTLE RON VANDEVANDER

SALES // MARKETING

TIM MCRAE vice president of sales and marketing tim@akersmediagroup.com

MIKE STEGALL senior marketing representative mike@akersmediagroup.com

LORI STRONG marketing representative lori@akersmediagroup.com

HEIDI RESSLER marketing representative heidi@akersmediagroup.com

JIM LAW marketing representative jim.law@akersmediagroup.com

DISTRIBUTION

SCOTT HEGG distribution manager scott.hegg@akersmediagroup.com

Christmas

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Merry Christmas to you and yours,

Kendra Akers Publisher