Because of the economic woes that have hit Mercer County during the last year, the number of gifts under trees in some local homes might be few this holiday season. But even more importantly, will there be food on the table Christmas Day?
How many kids won’t have enough to eat?
To help assure that nobody goes hungry, The Herald Good News Fund’s 17th annual drive to provide turkeys for the needy this holiday season is under way.
People of the Mercer County area have rallied around those less fortunate in past years by donating money to the fund. In fact, in the first 16 years, more than $160,000 was donated, which bought more than 18,000 turkeys and other food to be distributed over the holiday.
The money will be used to purchase turkeys at cost through D’Onofrio’s Food Center, Hermitage, and then delivered through many charitable agencies throughout the county area.
The goal this year is to buy 1,000 turkeys.
With so many people out of work and businesses closing or cutting back, the turkey drive is more important than ever. Not only are there more families needing help, there are also fewer individuals and businesses that can afford to contribute.
That’s why those of us who are working need to step up. How many of us couldn’t get by with one fewer gift under the tree so that a family gets a good meal on Christmas?
And how about when you are looking for a gift for that proverbial “person who has everything”? A nice feature of the fund is that you can give money as a gift in the name of a friend or family member. Wouldn’t Dad appreciate that more than the annual new tie that he never wears?
Also, Christmas is a time when we fondly remember our family members who have passed on. You can make a donation in the memory of those family members.
Donors will be acknowledged in The Herald as the fund appeal moves through the holiday season.
In the ageless, well-known Dickens’ novel “A Christmas Carol,” Ebenezer Scrooge delivered a goose to Bob Cratchit’s family, spurring the ailing boy Tiny Tim to say: “God bless us every one.”
Thanks to your contributions to the turkey drive, children throughout Mercer County will be able to say the same this coming holiday.
Anyone wanting to make a tax-free donation should make their checks payable to The Good News Fund and mail to The Herald, 52 S. Dock St., Sharon, 16146, or to the Allied News office in Grove City.
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