Charities and the holidays go together. It's more than the familiar sight of the Salvation Army bell ringers as we do our holiday shopping. This is traditionally when charities make their annual appeal.

This year, those bells seem to be ringing a little louder and more insistently. As we close out a year in which we've seen the economy go into a tailspin, sadly, the need is great. Food pantries around the country are reporting that their supplies are at historic lows.

Job losses combined with high energy and food prices have the greatest impact on families who struggle to make ends meet even in a sound economy. There are more people in need of a helping hand. Add to that - in the wake of the subprime mortgage mess - the message we keep hearing played out in the media that we need to all tighten our belts … that it's time to return to the old-fashioned value of thrift.

But cutting the purse strings to worthwhile causes? That's a road we can't afford to go down.

I am enormously proud of the fact that PCMA has a long history of giving back to the community - and I've only seen our members ramp up those efforts. Last month, all 16 PCMA chapters participated in Service in Sync, a week devoted to community-service projects. Our members gave of their time to sort tons of food, assemble care packages for our troops overseas, and give where it was needed. Here at PCMA headquarters, our staff collected more than 1,700 food items for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Giving back is a longstanding tradition at our annual meeting. Our Party with a Purpose networking event has raised $1.6 million in charitable donations. PCMA's Hospitality Helping Hands - a hands-on opportunity for attendees to donate their time and talents to the cities and communities that host the annual meeting each year - is such a popular event that there are usually more volunteers than can be accommodated. It's a nice problem to have. But at our 2009 meeting in New Orleans next month, we're making sure that no one who wants to volunteer will be shut out: We've extended the event over two days and are giving up to 500 attendees a chance to help out at three different community-service projects.

Doing good is good for the soul - and it has a side benefit of being good for business. When we roll up our sleeves for community service projects, we're also rubbing elbows with colleagues, making important contacts and lasting relationships.

Please consider how you can help those in need during the holidays and into the coming year. Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a fulfilling new year!