Talking turkey about Christmas
Congratulations, North Idaho. You gobbled up a great challenge to ensure needy families got their turkeys and all the trimmings on the biggest day of thanks giving.
Take a bow, but please realize something. That was only an appetizer.
The bigger challenge is to help raise almost a quarter of a million dollars in the next month. Press Christmas for All, in its 26th year, has set a sky-high goal of $225,000 for this campaign.
So where's all that money going to come from? And where will it go?
It will come from hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of sources. Service clubs will give generously. Several businesses will ante up and hand over king-sized checks. Our two terrific sponsors, Super 1 Foods and Shopko, will donate at least $10,000 apiece. Who knows? Maybe our mystery donor, Anonymous in Athol, will come through yet again.
But most of the contributions will come in the form of small amounts from big hearts. Children will bring in money from their piggy banks and they'll raise money from relatives or classmates. Some of our elderly residents who donate every single year will faithfully send in their checks for $5, $10 or $20. Many will include a note saying, "Wish it could be more but this is all I can afford." And we'll tell them right now, they've enriched their community more than they might realize.
As we might have mentioned a time or two, every single penny raised by Press Christmas for All goes to Kootenai County residents who need it to buy food, clothing and toys for Christmas. If we raise $225,000 - ahem, beg pardon - when we raise $225,000, we'll purchase $225,000 in gift cards of various amounts from Shopko and Super 1. The bigger the family applying for help, the more they'll receive, particularly those with young children.
And of course none of this would happen without our volunteers in The Hagadone Corporation and our teammates at Kootenai County Fire and Rescue. At KCFR, they enter every single application into a database that keeps records clean and thorough and helps detect potential fraud. Then these same volunteers open up their hearts and their facility on Seltice Way for two days in December to distribute gift cards to all the applicants.
This is a truly amazing program with a profound effect throughout Kootenai County, but most especially to young children who otherwise might have nothing under the tree or on the kitchen table Christmas Day. We expect to assist 10,000 or more residents this year.
And it all starts right here, right now.
Send your tax-deductible donation to:
Press Christmas for All
201 Second St.
Coeur d'Alene, ID. 83814