That’s our annual fund drive for Christmas to raise money to buy toys for kids who might not have any gifts under their tree — or maybe even a tree to celebrate this special time of year.
There are a lot of charitable drives at this time of year, and all of them are worthy. We urge you to donate generously to one of them — or several of them. If you can spare some money for the Empty Stocking Fund, it would be greatly appreciated.
This is the region’s oldest continuously operating charitable fund drive — just as The Enterprise is the region’s oldest continuously operating business, first publishing in 1880.
The fund drive began in 1914 — 107 years ago — as the Beaumont Journal’s summer Milk and Ice Fund. Enterprise society editor Florence Stratton (also known as Susie Spindletop) 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 when the afternoon Beaumont Journal and morning Beaumont Enterprise newspapers merged.
A coupon runs in the newspaper each day, usually on page A2. Just fill it out and mail in your donation to the Empty Stocking Fund, P.O. Box 3071, Beaumont, X, 77704-3071. Or you can make a donation in the lobby when it is open.
There’s also space on the form for you to write a few words about your donation. It could be dedicated to a family member (living or deceased) or just the spirit of the season. We’ll periodically run a list of donors if they wish to be identified in our print edition and at BeaumontEnterprise.com along with the special message they put down.
The past two Christmases have been tougher than usual for the poor because of the pandemic. Middle-class people might stop eating out or taking vacations when money gets tight. In a poor household, the choice could be between paying the electric bill or buying food. In a home like that, despite the most loving parents possible, toys for kids go way down on the list — and often don’t make the list.
That’s where the Empty Stocking Fund comes in — if we get enough donations to buy toys for all the parents who applied for this assistance. Our goal is $35,000 to help about 400 families, but we really believe we can exceed it this year with help from you — and your friends and neighbors.
Every time you donate, the Christmas stocking held by E.J., our fund’s toddler mascot in footed pajamas, fills up a little more. And on Christmas morning, boys and girls who might have been missed by Santa Claus this year find out that they have been remembered after all.
And then they smile, the way every child should at this most wonderful time of the year.