A lot of people experience a letdown after Christmas. The happiest day of the year becomes the saddest in one sunrise. A loved one now gone away, the return of the job mundane, reunions marred by heartbreaking good-byes, pressures of all sorts forgotten for the week push down. The reason for the sinking is loss of spirit.

What began in 1934 as the Albuquerque Community Chest is now the United Way of Central New Mexico. Its purpose has always been to build a stronger community by making it easier for neighbors to help each other.

LaDonna Hopkins, vice president and chief development officer of the United of Way Central New Mexico, has been serving the community for 10 years. "The community should expect an exciting announcement in February. We're going to have some good news," Hopkins says. Last year, the United Way of Central New Mexico raised $15.1 million. The goal this year is $16,161,616.16.

One of the hallmark aspects of the United Way is the Corporate Cornerstone Program, which allows companies to voluntarily pay all of United Way's administrative costs. When an individual gives to the United Way, almost 100 percent of the contribution goes toward services. Sixty-eight New Mexico companies participate in the program, which shaves the United Way's administrative financial burden down to 13.4 percent.

Todd Sandman, director of public relations for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, says this year total giving to the United Way from Presbyterian's 8,000 employees is $701,000, in addition to the $100,000 Presbyterian contributes to the Corporate Cornerstone Program. "They've been incredibly generous," Sandman says.

So if you're feeling a little bluesy after Christmas, think about all the opportunities you have in 2006 to make things better - for yourself and others. Be content with what you have, and give more this year than last year. Focus on the good in all your acts. Wash down bitter thoughts and cheer yourself on to a year of renewed goodness and growth. And remember that you can make a difference. Raise your individual level of civic engagement, not only by voting in the 2006 elections, but also by supporting nonprofit organizations with your time, your resources and your personal and professional connections.

Have you volunteered to visit new single mothers in hospitals to discuss how important reading is to the development of a new child? Have you ever raised money to purchase school supplies for young students in families unable to buy them or solicited manufacturers for product donations? When did you last plant a tree with a youth group? If you're man enough, form an organized street patrol to create a comforting presence on the streets of your troubled neighborhood and face the challenges in your area by providing referral services.

Form a garden club and beautify the surroundings of impoverished neighborhoods to instill pride. You can help turn an empty building into an arts center that displays the work of troubled youth. You can create a network of volunteers to provide everything from toys to toiletries for needy children. You can provide support or free legal assistance to victims of domestic and child abuse.

Wherever there are poor and ineffective services for the elderly, inadequate understanding of the issues and lack of attention to the challenges facing our adolescent youth and substandard care for infants and young children, there will always be only one real solution if we fervently wish to maintain a civil society: We must dedicate, apply and give more of ourselves.

J.D. Bullington is senior policy adviser and director of New Mexico government relations for the Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber law firm. He writes this column weekly.