AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The United Way of Amarillo and Canyon wants to thank the community for all the giving that takes place year round, but they also want to make sure that the dollars you give-out are being used wisely.

That's why they say it's important to be aware of the difference between the homeless and a panhandler.

"Panhandlers are definitely a profession. Most of the time they're not hungry, they have a place to sleep at night and they probably even have a car.  Save your dollars for people that really need them and for the professionals that know how to best use those dollars to help the homeless community," said Frankie Francel, Area United Way Executive Director.

Someone who is homeless doesn't have a roof over their head or even a place to sleep at night.

"We want to help the homeless get to that next level, find a job, get over the crisis that made them homeless, but at the same time we want to discourage panhandlers in our community and to be real honest panhandlers give the homeless a bad name," said Francel.

Francel says if you encounter a person asking for money to direct them to one of the many resource services Amarillo has to offer like the Salvation Army, United Way and the Guyon Saunders Center.