It’s pretty standard fare for this time of year – festive gatherings, toy giveaways, adopt-a-(fill in the blank)-for-the-holidays – all throughout the Central Valley there are efforts to help make sure everyone has some joy and a reason to smile. Amazingly, Christmas is literally just around the corner and over the past couple of weeks our papers have been filled with photos and stories surrounding the holiday season. That’s to be expected but what I find this year, seemingly more than ever before, is the willingness of people to step up and help.