The holiday season is often a time when people give back and help people in need. One local mother is asking for help as she struggles to provide Christmas presents to her two young children. Thankfully programs such as the "Globe Santa" donate toys to children whose families cannot afford to buy gifts. The "Globe Santa" is asking people to consider donating to their cause, which raised more than 1.2 million dollars last Christmas.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/12/02/single-mom-recovery-asks-globe-santa-help-her-two-young-sons/q6Pl3rOJg8SeB6MCqUC8aN/story.html

Residents are banning together in Haverhill to protest against an assisted living complex from being built. Neighbors are collecting signatures to petition against the project from taking off. The main objection against this facility from being built is that it is too large for the residential neighborhood that is already congested.

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/haverhill/haverhill-neighbors-organize-against--unit-complex/article_910dbd0f-52e9-51de-abb5-dc7cdaa497dd.html

With a growing heroine epidemic taking over many communities right here in Massachusetts, the City of Haverhill is planning to take action. The local high school Haverhill high is hoping to implement substance abuse counselors and health programs geared at discussing drug abuse and its implications. These proposals are in the beginning stages but the school committee is determined to help stop this growing epidemic.

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/haverhill/haverhill-schools-join-in-fight-against-heroin/article_b1d3d9b6-fb45-5303-91b4-025a83cc3bf8.html

A group of women known as "Lipstick" which stands for ladies involved in putting a stop to inner-city killings, are bringing awareness to gun violence and how women can help to stop this. The main goal of this group is to urge women to resist the pressures from spouses, boyfriends, friends and family to cover up and help hide illegal guns. It was found that many women are involved in covering up illegal gun purchases, which Lipstick is trying to prevent.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/11/13/how-women-can-help-stop-gun-violence/OhjSy9hqCfloZR9ZH3JlmO/story.html

One college is on the quest to have its students become civically engaged. Ursinus College located in Pennsylvania is urging its students to give back and live a life full of purpose. This college provides its students with numerous ways to get involved and really make a difference.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bobby-fong/civic-engagement-is-an-es_b_4962740.html

In order to help raise money for families affected by the Ebola virus students at Methuen high school will go around during trick-or- treating hoping to raise money. These students are donating their proceeds to Unicef in hopes to bring relief to some of the people affected by this deadly virus in West Africa.

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/methuen-high-students-will-trick-or-treat-to-fight-ebola/article_fc8117d0-0275-58f0-84cd-93ad7190fb4a.html

In times of tragedy this one local community has come together to raise funds for families who lost everything in a house fire. The fire claimed the lives of two children who were only 9 and 4 years old. The fundraiser was held at a local McDonald's in Lawrence, MA in which the owner donated 15% of lunch sales that day to the fundraiser.

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/merrimack_valley/fire-victim-fundraiser-helps-recovery/article_222bc21a-101d-5365-bdac-89e7272eeb16.html

The following article discusses the urgency for people in the Latino and African American communities to get civically engaged. Decisions that affect these groups are often made without any input from the actual people in these communities. Voting is a key element in making changes for these communities as they need to elect people who will represent them well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cristobal-joshua-alex/ensuring-the-voices-of-go_b_5961984.html

In Lawrence, MA a march against domestic violence took place, in which women dressed in wedding gowns as they marched with signs. The hopes of this march was to spread awareness and to educate the community on domestic violence.

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/article_0df85f7b-e630-5628-9185-c01b1872a22f.html

One local library located in Plaistow, NH is helping children to get involved in their community and even offer bread baking lessons once a week. This library is trying to be more than just a place for people to come and check out books. Having a place to gather as a community and give back is the main goal of this library.

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/article_eee62ba5-9afa-54db-856a-bf6685ff9f10.html

I came across an interview of one of the youngest elected officials in United States history. At only eighteen years old James Loomis currently serves as the Democratic Committeeman in his town in Missouri. I find him to be a great role model for young adults who strive to become civically involved.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-kreissman/at-bat-americas-boy-wonde_b_5819230.html

http://www.northjersey.com/news/education-advocates-urge-state-to-provide-paterson-with-better-school-buildings-1.1012139

A town in New Jersey is a asking for a better school to send their children to. The conditions in which this school is currently in are unsafe and unsanitary. Such conditions include electrical issues, rats running around and mold growth.

http://bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2014/09/alliance_helps_marathon_bombing_victims_rebuild?utm_campaign=bostonherald_trending_stories&utm_source=bostonherald&utm_medium=trending_stories

This article titled "Alliance helps marathon bombing victims rebuild" by the Boston Herald, discusses an alliance that was established to help the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. The name of this alliance is called the Boston Survivors Accessibility Alliance and it was created by the state Department of Public Safety. This program is run by volunteers and the main goal of this alliance is to make the homes for victims accessible at no charge.