Our country’s National Day of Giving is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 30. Have spare time or discretionary income? Why not choose to get involved by joining, volunteering or donating locally.

There is an absolutely huge variety of choices that qualify for charitable donations, offer memberships or who may need volunteers in La Plata County. And, with the holidays upon us, don’t forget that the annual IRS tax deadline looms large, especially if you have bazillions of Benjamins to contribute (or not). To verify any Colorado organization’s status, Google “Tax Exempt Organization Search – Internal Revenue Service,” an online resource.

Besides being beautiful, what makes a place like Durango so special? Most of us longtime residents know that La Plata County is an exceptional place to live, mainly because so many of the county’s residents support our community’s myriad nonprofit service organizations as well as local businesses. If citizens in each county and state across the whole United States were participating by volunteering, shopping and donating locally, the entire U.S. could be an even better place to live, grow, work and recreate.

Since I’m in my 45th year of county residency and active participation, I probably qualify as a Local Yokel. So, y’all: Get involved. Happy Holidays and Beyond! P.S. to “Newbies”: The rut is on! Please slow down and watch for deer, because they have other things on their minds right now besides watching out for you drivers.

Anita Hermosillo

Durango