Published: November 27, 2008 08:43 am            

Playing Santa for those who might otherwise go without

For a brief moment, there was joy in the young father’s voice as he recalled the excitement his children felt while shopping for gifts before last Christmas.

They went through a store and loaded up a cart with toys, he said, and the youngsters understood the importance of what they were doing as they placed those toys in a bin for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program.

“They knew we were helping someone else,” the father said.

But things have changed in a year’s time. The father encountered health problems that cost him his job. He then lost his home, and is now staying with a friend.

There may be no money for Christmas gifts for his own children, let alone giving to a charity.

And that’s why this year, this family will be among those receiving gifts through The Tribune-Democrat’s Santa Fund.

For the second straight holiday season, we’ll be using your generous donations to make sure hundreds of local kids receive gifts for Christmas.

Right now, we’re finalizing our list of children. Believe me, the need is again great. Many people are struggling to heat their homes and buy groceries, so buying gifts for their children is all but impossible.

The giving to support the program continues for at least another week.

You may have seen advertisements in this newspaper thanking those who already have given to the Santa Fund. They include individuals, families and organizations – and we thank them all.

A big part of this program is celebrating that giving spirit, and we sincerely appreciate every dollar offered.

But the more money we receive, the more we can accomplish.

That will include helping the family of a Johnstown woman who just got out of the hospital. The single mom works to support two teenage children at home and one away at college.

By Dec. 15, we’ll be buying gifts and getting them ready for distribution. Then on or around Dec. 17, we’ll be taking the gifts to the many children in Johnstown, in the Ebensburg area, in the Somerset area and anywhere else they are.

This program works because of the hard work of many people – most of whom don’t work at the newspaper.

Our many partners include the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, The Family Center and Alternative Community Resource Program, Girl Scouts, Goodwill Industries, AmeriCorps and the United Way of the Laurel Highlands.

Volunteers have been compiling names of children, and collecting and tabulating the donations. And volunteers will be preparing the gifts for delivery.

This year, Boscov’s department store at the Galleria joined the effort and will be helping us fill wish lists with toys.

Through Dec. 8, you can send your donation to Santa Fund c/o Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, 116 Market St., Johnstown, PA 15901.

Or, if you happen to be out shopping, you can stop by The Tribune-Democrat/Johnstown Magazine kiosk at the Galleria on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. We’re located on the ground floor near Boscov’s. You can drop off your donation there, while checking out our new church book, “Domes & Spires.”

For many in our region, without the Santa Fund, Toys for Tots and similar efforts, the holidays would be a bleak time.

Thank you for being a part of this important community program.

And Merry Christmas.



Chip Minemyer is the editor of The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 532-5091.

        

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