Being a local newspaper editor, I do a lot of grumbling. There’s always deadlines. There’s always more work than resources. There’s always a source or a reader who is unhappy with a decision, front page, or with a delivery problem. There’s always another pressing demand. And there’s always a bit of chaos.
In all that, admittedly, there’s not a lot of time to reflect on how truly lucky I am to have this crazy job that I love more days than have days I want to throw in the towel.
But each year in the fall, the emails come and the phone rings, and I slow down, breathe and remember it’s all worth it. It’s time for Give A Christmas, my nonprofit partners remind me.
And I remind myself that efforts like this are part of the reason why I got into journalism — to have impact, to serve our community and to tell the stories of those who often don’t have a voice and sometimes live in the shadows.
After some grumbling about finding my GAC spreadsheets, I settle in and get to business on some of my favorite work of the year. As we get ready for Thanksgiving this week, I can say I am truly grateful and humble to work on Give A Christmas with the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club at the Courier Times and the Bucks County Opportunity Council at The Intelligencer.
Give A Christmas
Collectively, these efforts have provided nearly $9 million to direct aid to our community since GAC began in the Courier in 1958 and then in The Intell in 1988. Thousands have received assistance, not just with the holidays, but with help for a wide range of issues from housing, food insecurity, education, childcare and transportation.
I’m so thankful in a world where it seems there is more that divides us than unites us and more headlines that break our hearts rather than lift us up, that Give A Christmas still exists on the simple, yet profound mission it was founded on back in 1958: Neighbors helping neighbors.
I’m grateful for all the Kiwanis members, BCOC staffers and volunteers, and harried newspaper editors before me, all who remained committed to Give A Christmas no matter how difficult times were as our community and businesses changed. In the true spirit of the holidays, they all found a way, recognizing the needs of others were greater than our own challenges, and without Give A Christmas, for many, there would be no holiday.
More: Kiwanis, Courier Times launch Give A Christmas 2024 for Lower Bucks County families
More: Intell, BCOC launch Give A Christmas 2024 for Central and Upper Bucks County
I’m amazed and humbled by our Bucks County community, including thousands of our generous readers over decades, who make Give A Christmas an annual success. Last year alone, our two funds collectively raised over $300,000.
Many have made a GAC donation part of their yearly holiday giving. Some give $5 and a sweet message of encouragement. Businesses have been generous with larger donations and matches. School students have collected from their piggy banks and sent it in. Past recipients have paid it forward and have themselves donated when able. No matter the amount or effort, we are incredibly grateful, and all the funds raised stay right here in Bucks County and our coverage areas in Eastern Montgomery County.
More: Demand for Kiwanis, Courier Give A Christmas grows. How to help Lower Bucks County families
Executive editor Danielle Camilli accepted the BCOC community connector award on behalf of Gannett and The Intelligencer earlier this month.
Last week, I was honored to receive the Community Connector Award on behalf of the newspaper and our parent company, Gannett and the USA Today Network, for our work on GAC from the Bucks County Opportunity Council at their annual breakfast, where they showcased all the amazing work they do year long to reduce poverty and its effects on our community.
My spreadsheets, coordination and weekly appeals for Give A Christmas paled in comparison to the work of others at that meeting, but I was proud to be a “connector” because it’s those community connections that are the heart of our Christmas campaigns.
Sitting there, I remembered starting my newspaper career as a news clerk with the paper in 1996 and one of the first “big jobs” they trusted me with was reading the letters for GAC help and writing the weekly story from those notes. While so much has changed since then, the need and the simple requests have not.
Parents and grandparents struggling with unemployment, high housing costs, illness and other difficulties share their stories with us each week as they look for a little holiday help to ensure a brighter Christmas for their kids. We hear from seniors making tough choices of what bills to pay and whether to pick up their medicines as their monthly budgets don’t stretch as far.
As the sister of five siblings, I’m always touched by the brothers and sisters who aren’t so concerned with themselves but ask for help to make the other kids in the family’s holiday better. I’m thankful to all these folks who trust us with their stories and reach out for help.
More: Intell, BCOC Give A Christmas works to meet diverse needs in Central, Upper Bucks County
So this Thanksgiving week, I’m going to grumble and complain less, despite the deadlines and chaos a holiday week brings to our newsroom.
I’m going to do my spreadsheets with a grateful heart as I wish you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons, and ask that you consider a donation to Give A Christmas as a way to show your own gratitude for this community and all it gives to you every day.
BCOC Executive director Erin Lukoss addresses the group gathered at the nonprofit’s annual breakfast earlier this month at Spring Mill Country Club
How Give A Christmas works
The Give A Christmas fund is administered by the Bucks County Opportunity Council with a portion of the proceeds shared with Keystone Opportunity Center. The two nonprofit agencies work on behalf of Give A Christmas to identify individuals and families needing financial assistance during the holidays.
The fund provides for a variety of assistance — from traditional help buying gifts and groceries to rental assistance, medical bills or utility needs. After the program satisfies eligible requests for assistance during the holidays, the remaining fund balance may be used by the agencies to provide similar types of assistance needed at other times of the year.
The Intelligencer’s Give A Christmas fund provides assistance to families in Central and Upper Bucks County as well as Eastern Montgomery County and the North Penn and Indian Valley communities. We have a separate campaign for our families in Lower Bucks County.
All donations will be acknowledged in the newspaper unless anonymity is requested. Please note that we cannot guarantee publication on a given date; donations are published in the order they are received and processed.
Click here to donate online via credit card, Paypal or Venmo.
To get help from Give A Christmas
If you wish to inquire about eligibility for Give A Christmas assistance, call the Bucks County Opportunity Council at 215-345-8175 ext. 200 if you reside within the following Bucks County school districts: Centennial, Central Bucks, New Hope-Solebury, Palisades, Pennridge or Quakertown Community, as well as the Montgomery County school districts of Upper Moreland and Hatboro-Horsham and their adjoining communities.
You can also fill out this form online to get an appointment with BCOC at http://weblink.donorperfect.com/GACHELP2024
Call the Keystone Opportunity Center at 215-723-5430 if you reside within the Souderton or North Penn school districts.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Give A Christmas gives us a lot to be thankful for in Bucks County
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