There's an excellent new Americana-themed Christmas album out now on Western Beat Records, To Kate: A Benefit for Kate's Sake. The album features contributions from Steve Earle with Allison Moorer, Joe Ely, Buddy & Julie Miller, Raul Malo, Jason & the Scorchers, and more. I'll have the review up later this week.

The "Kate" in the title is Kate Kirk, a 3-year-old little girl from Nashville with a rare and typically fatal genetic disorder, Niemann-Pick Disease. But Kate has a glimmer of hope in the form of a bone-marrow transplant. She had the transplant this summer at Duke University, but the procedure and related expenses are expected to run up to $150,000. Her older sister, 6-year-old Caroline, also shares the disease, but her condition is beyond treatment.

It's a great album for a great cause. And after all, isn't the holiday spirit all about helping others?

Buy To Kate, make a donation, and learn more about Kate and Caroline, their disease, and their family at www.forkatessake.org. If you'd prefer to make a donation offline, you can do that too at any Bank of America branch.

This isn't a phrase I toss around lightly, but may God bless the Kirk family and their two beautiful little girls.