Christmas Fund 1996 Christmas Bureau Line Full

A soggy queue of people lined the length of a city block and turned the corner on Tuesday, waiting in the rain for their turn at The Spokesman-Review Christmas Bureau.

A warm, cheery, Christmas atmosphere, created by applicants and volunteers, filled the bureau, a former discount drugstore near Main and Post - across the street from Nordstrom.

There were 874 applicants seeking help for their families on Tuesday. Of those people, 1,768 were children who received toys, and 1,671 were adults who received food vouchers, said Ken Trent, the bureau’s director.

Tuesday’s crowd is only a fraction of those whose holiday will be heartened by donors to the Christmas Fund. Last year, some 26,077 adults and children received the Christmas charity of newspaper readers. Of that number, 13,438 children received a new toy, delivered by the jolly old elf himself. That’s an incredible number to consider: 13,438 children - that’s more people than populate some towns. Each child received a gift, some of whom might not have received anything else.

That says so much about the Spokane area and the people who live here.

Because of government cutbacks, recent horrid, icy weather conditions and other factors, the number of families seeking help is apt to be even greater this year.

The Christmas Fund has become a cherished tradition in Spokane, begun 51 years ago with the idea of neighbor helping neighbor.

If you can be a helping neighbor, please know that every cent of your gift to the Christmas Fund goes only to pay for toys and food vouchers. Nothing is ever withheld for expenses: there are no salaries to meet, no rent to pay. Everything is donated and everyone connected with the bureau is a volunteer.

This has been a truism for 51 years.

If you are a neighbor needing help, please call the Christmas Fund Cityline at 459-5426 for information.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo