A day of silence...and how you can help

I was going to post pictures of our Christmas tree today, but each time I tried, I couldn't find words that seemed anything more than trite and trivial, in the face of Friday's tragedy in Connecticut. (Yes, I posted on Friday...a pre-scheduled post that, in retrospect, I kind of wish I had re-scheduled.)

I'm not going to preach about what needs to change in this country--there are too many items to list. I'm simply going to ask that all of you reading this take a moment--to pray, if you pray, or to just send positive thoughts if that's more your thing--and think about the children, teachers and families in Newtown who have been affected by Friday's horrific events. If you want to help in a more concrete way, I invite you to check out the resources below.

- The United Way is collecting donations for the Sandy Hook School Support Fund. You can donate via credit card here, or you can mail a check to:

Sandy Hook School Support Fund
c/o Newtown Savings Bank
39 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470

- Newtown Youth & Family Services is a nonprofit mental health clinic that is providing emergency counseling to families. I know the emergency counseling was going on last weekend, but I'm not sure how long they plan to continue. You can find their contact info and learn how to donate here.
- The Newtown Memorial Fund is asking for donations to assist in covering funeral costs. (Be warned. They list the kids' names and ages on the front page. It was heartbreaking to see.)
- The Emilie Parker fund has been created to help the family of one of the victims, 6-year-old Emilie Parker. Here's that fund's Facebook page.
- The Friends of the Engel Family Fund has been set up in honor of 6-year-old Olivia Engel. It also has a Facebook page.
- Donations to the Sandy Hook Elementary School Victims Relief Fund, via Crowdrise, are directed toward the school's PTSA organization, according to its founder.
- If you wish to send a message to the community of Newtown, you can do so via Evergram. CNN reports that all the messages submitted will be put together and delivered to community members.

If you know of other ways to help, please feel free to share them in the comments below.