Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to tour Magnolia Cemetery in Beaumont and learn about some of its notable tenants.
As someone who grew up knowing I wanted to be a journalist and was a bit more mouthy than some people think little girls should be, I didn’t have to hear much of Florence Stratton’s story before knowing I wanted to be her when I grew up (you may know her as Susie Spindletop).
Jump forward about a month, and I’m now a board member with the Empty Stocking Fund, which was started by Florence in 1914, first as the Beaumont Journal Milk and Ice Fund. Enterprise history says she started it because of “her deep feeling for the underprivileged in Beaumont.”
It was moved to the holiday season in 1920, and in 1983, the name was changed as the Beaumont Journal and Enterprise newspapers merged.
The first year the program was moved to the holiday season, the “Good Fellows” collected $206 to help a few families.
Donations have surged and waned, but the idea remains the same.
And to be frank, this year feels like the perfect time to help the fund again begin picking up steam.
We seem to be headed out of a global pandemic, we’re having conversations about representation that previously have been kept largely in the shadows and, I don’t know about you, but it feels past time for me to begin putting good feelings back out into the community around me.
When I was a teen, my youth pastor would challenge us each year to give up one Starbucks drink a week and instead give that money to a good cause. In college, I was inspired by a blogger to set aside an amount of money each month that coincides with the year. For instance, this year would be $2,021, $202.10, $20.21 — you get the point.
So, I challenge you to join me in that pursuit — be it a number to symbolize this year, one that’s particularly special to you or simply what you can afford in increments of $5 — to support Southeast Texas children and families who may not have presents of their own.
Our goal this year is $35,000, but I know if we all work together, we can beat it.
Each day between now and the Christmas Eve fundraising deadline, you’ll find a list of donors and a donation form on page 2. Please fill that out and mail it back to the Empty Stocking Fund, P.O. Box 3071, Beaumont, TX 77704.
And if you want to include in their your own giving story — who you’re donating in memory of, what your special number means or why the community is important to you — we’d love to read those, too.