In preparation for my recent Greyhound Bus adventure in Florida (A separate story I will share with you soon... and trust me I am certainly not creative enough to make this stuff up. Citizen Hunters, you are in for a treat!), I stopped into a Publix Grocery Store to get some good snacks.

Leaving aside my personal shenanigans for now, I learned of the incredible power of a single dollar. The cashier scanned my Hershey Almond Chocolate Bar (Go Pennsylvania!!!), Nerds "ropes" - which my friend Lisa, fittingly, insisted I purchase (but if she really cared about me, she would've just sent some Tastykakes from Philly - the best, enough said!), and other goodies. While all of this was going on, Flavia, the busybody, was in full effect.

I looked all around and noticed a picture of a beautiful girl with a hopeful smile, but with eyes that seemed haunted for a girl of her tender age. This picture caught me off guard and stopped me in my tracks. I picked up a little piece of paper the cashier could scan that told me I could help feed little girls like her! This magenta ticket enabled me to add $1 to my purchase, which ultimately became a direct contribution to The Food For All program.

The Food For All Organization, a non-profit, provides a variety of self-help solutions to end hunger across the country. To find out more about their programs in your state visit their Web site, call 1-800-896-5101, or write Food For All at 201 Park Washington Court, Falls Church, VA 22046.

PLUS: Speaking of the power of a dollar, here's an update to the Holiday Book Drive post:

I sat in Borders today to get a little bit of work done, and noticed that it was also accepting donations for children in need this holiday season. Borders has teamed up with First Book, a nonprofit that gives kids from low-income families the opportunity to own and read new books. Instead of bringing books you just add a cash donation to your purchase. Each donation gets distributed to organizations in area communities in the form of gift cards.

To learn more about this program, which runs from now through December 24, visit www.firstbook.org, or your local Borders, Borders Express, Borders Outlet, Waldenbooks, or Brentano's store.

Here's the bottom line: Whether you prefer one bookstore over another, there are various opportunities to donate books or money toward their purchase for children in need. During the holiday season give a gift to someone in need, and find out it is just as much a gift to yourself. I can recall reading Silent Night to my sister and feeling strangely connected to an unknown child who might be reading the Silent Night I had donated. Silly I know, but for a few bucks I got a child what might have been their first new book and I had a moment where I felt happy for someone I had never even met.