Josh and Beth are grownups with decent jobs and a nice house. We really don’t need or even want much, other than the time to do fun stuff with you all.

Here is a list of charities whose missions we feel strongly about. We urge you to spend your gift-giving dollars to help save something or someone who needs things we do not.

The American Civil Liberties Union
You know. You don’t need me to tell you.

The Southern Poverty Law Center
You know.

The E.F. Morrill Scholarship fund at Brooklyn Children’s Theatre
Theater is one thing that can help offer creative choices and possibilities to kids whose lives have few. Ed worked for years with the Brooklyn Children’s Theatre company, helping kids find their voices and expand their senses of possibilities. This scholarship allows the BCT’s excellent programs to support kids in foster care for seasons to come.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association
This organization manages waterways in the Morris County, New Jersey, area. A friend of ours works with conservation efforts concerning watershed health, wildlife conservation, and educational programs for school kids and grownup kids. They also kindly loan their space, free of charge, to Beth’s medieval reenactment group for regular workshops.

Miss Pat’s Cats Rescue Organization
Miss Pat (Patricia Andrews-Webb) manages an organization that has found homes for hundreds of cats, and brought joy and companionship to many people. Her organization rescues, treats, spay and neuters, socializes and homes cats in the Essex County area of New Jersey. But vet bills are expensive and constant. You can contribute to defray costs of the venture. Keeping strays to a minimum requires constant spaying and neutering of newly-dumped or born-on-the-street cats.

If you still want to toss Beth and Josh a little sumpin’ towards their beer and meals:

We could use a refresher on our Fiestaware settings. The bowl shape is “classic rim”. Colors we like include the jade, the scarlet, the daffodil, the lapis or the twilight. We could use more of the platters and serving bowls, too.

We are considering investing in a fancy new mattress.

We keep meaning to get a bunch of things framed at Jerry’s Artarama. A gift card toward that would not go amiss.

Finally, we entertain just often enough that it would be nice to have four more place settings of Beth’s silver. The pattern is Lunt William and Mary. No clue who sells used silver settings anymore though.