Even as Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, I keep looking at the calendar and wondering where 2013 has gone. It’s been a banner year for The Sin City Siren and I hope it’s been one for you as well. Indeed, it is because of you that The Siren has any success at all, and so right up top, I want to thank you for that.

I wonder if you, dear readers, have any idea how much you have done not just for me, but for others through my humble little website. In nearly seven years’ time, you’ve helped me raise thousands of dollars for a host of causes, big and small. Right now I am working on revising the first draft of the as-yet-untitled SCS anthology (check back soon for details on the Kickstarter campaign!) and as I’ve been pouring over hundreds of old SCS posts (almost 2,000 posts, in case you are curious), the one thing that stands out more than anything else is how generous you readers are!

Need proof? Check out this list of charities, non-profits, and causes that YOU have supported:

• AFAN (Aid for AIDS of Nevada)
• Fag Bug
• God’s Groceries food pantry
• National Public Radio
• National Network of Abortion Funds (three years running!)
• Planned Parenthood
• The Rape Crisis Center
• Safe Nest
• Shade Tree
• Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
• Three Square
• UNLV’s Vagina Monologues

And that is not even counting all the goods and services folks have contributed and donated over the years — crayons and coloring books for kids with cancer; coats, non-perishable food, diapers, and other vital supplies for the needy; and supporting local artists and authors. I’m really thankful for all you do.

That’s why I know that SCS readers use their dollars to vote their conscience, too. In poll after poll, you have said that you are not into the largesse of Black Friday, or companies that make their employees work on Thanksgiving. (As it turns out, despite the hype to the contrary most Americans aren’t even going to be shopping on either Thanksgiving or Black Friday.)

A University of Connecticut survey conducted in November found that 90 percent of polled Americans don’t plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day. About half of consumers, 49 percent, disapprove of the retailers that will open early, and another 46 percent prefer that the stores wait to open until Black Friday morning. (ThinkProgress)

That’s not really news to Siren readers. Ours is a community that tends to pour our hard-earned bucks back into the local economy with events like #GivingTuesday (Dec. 3) and like Small Business Saturday this weekend (Nov. 30). In fact, there is an excellent event this Saturday that will help you support local businesses and get your holiday shopping done: Neon Bazaar. There will be dozens of locally owned merchants such as Pop! Goes the Icon, 7th Street Vintage, JoJo’s Jerky, Happy Panda Toys, and Stitch Factory, to name a few. Plus, there will be free shuttles from the El Cortez to the Downtown Container Park and all those food trucks!

Whether you venture out to Neon Bazaar (like I will be) or you donate to a good cause or you just stay home and do your own thing, I know that you will be giving to someone out there from your hearts, not just from your wallets.

This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for a lot of things including my family and the relatively comfortable life I have. I’m grateful that I get to do what I love for a living. I’m grateful that I have found a home in a crazy place like Las Vegas and a feminist community who has supported me through thick and thin. And I’m grateful that somewhere out there at least one person feels a little less like an outcast, or maybe more whole as a survivor, because of a site like this. I may have created The Siren, but all of you together made it a vibrant testimony to the generosity and kindness of strangers.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish you a warm, safe, and satisfying holiday, now and always.