When times are tough, little things like $5 can mean a lot

The numbers of hungry, homeless and hopeless are growing so fast in the Twin Cities that the problems seem too big for individuals to solve.

So let's start with a more manageable number, one that most of us can deal with pretty easily:

The number is five. As in 5 bucks.

Today, the Greater Twin Cities United Way is taking an unprecedented step by asking those of us who can spare $5 to dig into our pockets and help a little to stem the tide of poverty, unemployment and increasing need that is accompanying the economic meltdown. United Way leaders are calling it the Give5Now campaign, and they admit freely that they stole the idea from Barack Obama's hugely successful fundraising strategy: If everyone gives a little, all those littles can turn into a lot. And we need lots, right now.

Requests for assistance from food shelves are multiplying, as are needs for shelter and other basics as unemployment and foreclosures rise while government programs, waiting for budget axes to fall, are cutting back. The result is a needs gap, with more than half a million Twin Cities residents -- those who live at or near poverty income levels, facing an increasingly harsh environment.

"This is a perilous time," says Eric Nyberg, president of Keystone Community Services, which operates three food shelves in St. Paul and Roseville, and is one of just 200 nonprofit social agencies that rely on United Way contributions. "People are falling through the cracks, and the cracks are getting deeper and wider. This is a very generous community, but there is enormous need, and we've been moving out lots of food to very desperate families who come from all walks of life. The needs are going through the roof."

Across the Twin Cities, the story is the same. Although the United Way successfully completed its fall campaign, raising $88 million, the need has outstripped the giving, so the agency has ventured into the world of online video to tap new sources of aid.

United Way officials are hoping that Give5Now will appeal especially to younger people who may not yet have jobs reached by the charity's workplace giving campaign, which produces about 80 percent of the United Way's donations. United Way agencies in Atlanta, Boston and Jacksonville, Fla., also are trying the Give5Now campaign.

"We're seeing really big increases in the needs of people for the basics," says Andy Goldman-Gray, a spokesman for United Way, who estimates that food-shelf demands are up as much as 30 percent while donations appear to be declining as everyone tightens their belts. "We've done everything we can through the workplace, so we're doing this as an experiment to see if we can get a lot of young people to give a little, to help out big. The safety net is being stretched, and people who were donating to us just two years ago are now using food shelves."

He's not exaggerating.

At Merrick Community Services on St. Paul's East Side, executive director Fran Ivory says a woman who was sponsoring a needy family for Christmas just became needy herself after unexpectedly losing her job. While the number of families needing Christmas help has increased by 20 percent or so, he says, donations have dropped off and Merrick has had to cut back on the number of families it can help this Christmas.

"No question, this is the worst I've seen," says Ivory, who has worked with needy families since 1975. "This is the time of year when people give money to nonprofits like us to help tide us through the year. But that's not happening so much this year."

"Everybody's worried, but let's see if we can turn this into something positive, says Goldman-Gray.

"It will only cost $5."

Just do it, people. Check out the video, spread the word, e-mail your friends.

Give up a latte and help out a lot.