If someone gave you a million dollars, what is the best way you can think of to use it it?
Want a hint?
Christmas is a month from today.
The holiday season shifts into high gear today as
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with the traditional turkey and trimmings, football and
family galore. Tomorrow, the serious shopping begins.
And, also traditionally, The Salisbury Post opens
its annual Christmas Happiness fund drive today to bring a little Santa into every
household in Rowan County.
So where does the million dollars fit in?
Through Christmas 1998, the fund has raised a
total of $939,428 in the 47 years since the late Spencer Murphy, then editor of the Post,
got it all started in 1952.
And, if the good folks in Rowan County open their
pocketbooks and hearts in the same generous way again this year, the all-time amount
contributed to the fund will top that magical million dollar mark. The fund has raised
more than $60,000 each of the last four years.
What has all that money bought in Rowan County
over the years? More than money itself can buy, that’s for sure.
In set amounts for each underprivileged child who
qualifies for help through the Rowan Christmas Bureau, it has provided a happy conclusion
to anticipation and hope for many little ones who might otherwise not have had much of a
Christmas.
That special sparkle is in addition to the actual
joy of unwrapping that “just-what-I-wanted” new toy or sweater.
Last year, the fund enabled 1,629 children and
elderly and disabled residents of nursing and group homes throughout the county to have a
gift and not feel forgotten. Multiply similar numbers times 48 to see just how much joy a
million dollars can buy.
If all this doesn’t convince you that the
Christmas Happiness Fund is a “best buy,” then consider this:x Every penny
contributed through the years has gone directly to the purchase of those special gifts by
parents and guardians who otherwise don’t have the money for presents for their
children.
There are no “administrative costs.”
Employees at the Post and Rowan County Department of Social Services handle the fund in
addition to their regular duties. Volunteers with the Rowan Christmas Bureau interview and
certify potential recipients.
Donations collected at the Post will be counted
and listed in the newspaper daily, except Sundays, now through Christmas Eve.
In past years, they have been listed on Sundays as
well. However, the Post has discontinued Saturday office hours. So there’s no way
folks can deposit contributions in the gift-wrapped Christmas Happiness box in the lobby
on that day for Sunday listings.
Once donations are counted at the Post, they are
picked up by a Social Services worker and counted again. The money is then deposited in a
special account from which vouchers are paid.
The vouchers are issued by Social Services to
eligible families. They can be used at local participating stores only for items for
children.
Times may be prosperous for a lot of us, but there
will always be those who, for whatever reasons, have trouble providing the bare
necessities. We can’t let Santa forget their children.
The spirit Spencer Murphy instilled in this
ongoing community commitment is that every child deserves a new toy for Christmas. With
your help, no child in Rowan County will be forgotten on Christmas morning.
And again traditionally, the Post opens the fund
with a $1,000 donation. Several others who have already earmarked their Christmas gifts
for the children are listed below. Don’t hesitate. Keep the fund’s spirit alive
and give yourself a gift at the same time—the gift of knowing you helped put an
infectious holiday smile on a child’s face.
Bring contributions to the Salisbury Post, 131 W.
Innes St., between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays or mail them to The Salisbury Post Christmas
Happiness Fund, P.O. Box 4639, Salisbury, N.C. 28145-4639. Make checks payable to the
Christmas Happiness Fund.
Today’s donors:
The Salisbury Post
Today's News