An everyday gift.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Newspapers are criticized for not publishing more stories about the positive, uplifting things that happen every day in their communities. But they do.

Consider the City/Region section of Tuesday's Register-Guard, which was topped by a story about the First Baptist Church of Eugene donating a used van to the HIV alliance.

The gift could hardly be described as an earthshaking event. The headline, `Church gives used van to agency,' doesn't register on the Richter scale of newsworthiness.

But the story merited coverage for several reasons, not the least of which of was the welcome reminder that acts of charity are the norm, not the exception, in this and most other communities. Americans are often accused of being a self-centered and insular people who would rather fester on their couches watching their flat-screen TVs than reach out to help the needy.

That's a hollow stereotype. Americans lead the world in giving.

In 2006, Americans gave more than $241 billion to charitable causes. Eighty percent of that giving came from ordinary folks giving to causes that touched their hearts. Last year two thirds of this country's households gave an average of $2,499 to charity, according to U.S. News & World Report. And that doesn't begin to account for those who give generously of their time, with nearly 84 million people volunteering every year to feed the hungry, help victims of natural disasters, comfort the sick and read books to school kids.

The First Baptist story was also newsworthy because it reminds us that real, breathing human beings aren't bound by stereotypes that say evangelical Christians and groups like the HIV Alliance must be at perpetual odds. Turns out that First Baptist, one of Eugene's largest congregations, has been working with the alliance for about a year, donating supplies, assembling first-aid kids and providing meals for the alliance, a nonprofit group that works to stop the spread of HIV.

To be sure, some church members had initial qualms about the alliance and its needle-exchange program but then set those concerns aside after learning about the program's record of reducing infections and the spread of disease. As is often the case, good will, knowledge, pragmatism and a desire to help others combined to produce positive results.

Finally, First Baptist's gift made a difference - nudged the world, however slightly, in a more hopeful direction. The HIV Alliance had been using a decrepit 1990 Chevrolet van that expired earlier this year, and it desperately needed a vehicle to continue vitally important needle exchange, testing and counseling programs. The replacement van will enable the alliance to continue exchanging more than 10,000 dirty needles every week to prevent the spread of disease and to conduct a neighborhood program that collects up to 200 used needles each week from parks and neighborhoods. Bottom line: More needles collected, fewer HIV infections.

As First Baptist Pastor Brett Gilchrist noted in Tuesday's story: `Who can disagree with that?'