Good will all year long

Christmas is upon us. In a few short hours, all the celebrating, church services, gift giving, festive feasts and family gatherings will wane. In a few days or sooner, it will be back to the daily routine for most of us.

We hope, though, that the Christmas message of hope and giving endures throughout the year. There are many challenges on our doorsteps.

Cedar Rapids and Eastern Iowa can boast an overall quality of life that is second to few places on this planet. Nonetheless, the flood of 2008 and the subsequent national and world recession have exacted a heavy financial and emotional toll on many Iowans. Food banks and charities struggle to meet the elevated demand for their assistance. So, too, the local and state government agencies facing their own budget cutbacks.

Iowans have a reputation for helping others. Among our ranks are many big-name philanthropists. Such as Roy J. Carver, the Muscatine industrialist whose support of the University of Iowa was extensive. After his death, his philanthropy lives on through a trust that has distributed more than $235 million since 1987 for scientific research, support of education and youth.

Or William Quarton, the late Cedar Rapids media giant and community leader who left $35.4 million to the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation and ranked among the nation's top 50 individual philanthropists in 2008.

Or Mason City's John Pappajohn, the entrepreneur whose ongoing support, including $26.4 million to the UI Foundation this year, has often benefitted the university's business and medical institutions.

Still, it's everyday Iowans who make a daily difference for their neighbors in

need. Donating food, clothing and cash. Running errands. Fixing a leaky faucet or a broken window. Being there in times of personal loss.

In other words, spreading good will. Something we can do all year long.