When retailers look at the year ahead, they immediately look to one date.
It’s not tax day or what of the week the Fourth of July holiday falls on. Instead, they are looking for when Thanksgiving falls.
Everyone knows Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November, but to retailers when that fourth Thursday is exactly can make all the difference in the world.
In this year’s case, Thanksgiving fell late in the year, leaving retailers a shortened holiday shopping season to make their year, or to simply make ends meet.
When the calendar provides an earlier date for Thanksgiving, retailers — and last-minute shoppers — have a little more time.
But, retailers are not the only ones who feel the crunch of a shortened season.
Local charitable organizations, who rely on the goodwill of others and donations, are often left feeling the pinch of a shortened season.
One such charity would be the Salvation Army and their annual Red Kettle and Angel Tree campaigns.
While there is still plenty of time to hit their Red Kettle goal of $125,000, the Angel Tree campaign has come and gone. And while each of the Angels — area children of need — will have gifts under the tree this year, their adoption did not come easy, nor did it come without a cost to the Salvation Army.
More than 100 of the 655 Angels were left unadopted this season, forcing Salvation Army officials to dip into their already slim funds and ensure those Angels would not go without.
Sadly, this is not a one-year occurrence; Salvation Army officials said this has happened a number of times over the past years.
As we approach the Christmas celebration — a time when the world was given the greatest gift of all — we must remember we too are called to give.
Let’s not forget the organizations this season who are — just like their retail counterparts — doing everything to not only meet their goals, but to beat the calendar.