The name of generosity

When it's all said and done, this year's Press Christmas for All will have helped roughly 10,000 needy Kootenai County residents.

But you already knew that. What you might not have known is that checks, cash and credit card donations will come from about 1,000 people.

And of these, many of the most generous givers are those who request anonymity. We say "request" because we try to talk donors giving $500 or more into letting us take and publish their photograph. We succeed in getting quite a few of the reluctant good boys and girls to get their pictures in the paper because we've found over the years that readers often respond better to photos than to words. With these larger gifts, an accompanying photo encourages more people to give. It's a snowball of goodwill that just grows as it goes downhill.

Now, about those who insist on giving while refusing to let us disclose who they are: Some are people who have amassed substantial wealth and some are just hard-working, middle-class people. A few are senior citizens who might not have much but wish to share what they do have.

All are connected by a burning drive to make this amazing place we call home just a little bit better, even if only for one day.

But Christmas is not just any ordinary day. Nor are these ordinary people, even if you will never know their names.