Many Utahns boosting gifts to charity this year

Most Utahns believe it's better to give than to receive, and giving gets even better when times get tough.

Despite recent indications of national economic woes, 63 percent of Utahns say in a new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll that they plan to donate to holiday food and clothing drives about what they did last year.

More than 20 percent said they planned to donate more than last year; 13 percent said they planned to donate less.

Despite unemployment rising, housing values dropping and the possibility of pink slips, 96 percent of Utahns are not deterred from giving what they can.

The poll of 406 Utahns by Dan Jones & Associates was done Nov. 20-22. The margin of error is 5 percent.

A lot of donors have made a point of saying they believe the most important time to give to folks less fortunate is when they don't feel quite so fortunate themselves, said Chris Croswhite, executive director of the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake.

"I think one of the great things about people is most will actually become more charitable when things get a little rocky for themselves financially," Croswhite said, noting that Utahns are pretty generous by nature anyway. "The so-called 'things you can't buy with money' may become the most important stuff this year. You'd think people might just want to kind of cut back, but they actually seem more neighborly and a little more interested in helping out."

Croswhite and other advocates for the poor say that seasonal giving comes around once a year, but the need is ongoing. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of families with children seeking emergency shelter and food.

Opportunities abound to make good on those good intentions to give. Here are some of the main ways to donate:

The United Way of Salt Lake's Neighbor-to-Neighbor drive, under way since October, continues until Dec. 15. The effort is designed to bolster programs for more then 20 community agencies providing emergency and crisis services, including the Road Home, Utah Food Bank Services and Catholic Community Services of Utah.

"We recognize that there are many people struggling and that it is a difficult time of year because there are so many worthy causes," said Tom Love, chairman of United Way of Salt Lake's board of directors, "but that's all the more reason for those of us who can to go beyond the expected and help."

Food items, hygiene products and help with transportation (bus tokens and gas cards) and other services are needed, including rental assistance and foreclosure-related problems.