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Editorial: To Christmas Fund donors, volunteers: Thank you

Wed., Dec. 29, 2010

You did it again.

You thought of others who are less fortunate. You made sure they had a decent holiday meal, and that the children had at least one nice toy and a new book on Christmas Day.

You looked past the grim economic indicators and, in some cases, past your own declining finances. You pooled money with friends and family. You contributed at work. You helped your kids count their nickels and dimes.

You dug deep and pushed the Christmas Bureau close to its goal of raising $500,000, and now all of this can happen again next year.

It’s a wonderful thing to witness a community unwrapping its compassion, especially when you consider that the recipients are complete strangers. This year the bureau served 35,336 people, including 17,279 children.

“Without this we would have nothing,” said one unemployed couple with three children.

The reasons for giving were as heartwarming as the act itself.

Blessings were counted. Loved ones were memorialized. People who were once the recipients of kindness gave back to the community and discovered the simple joy of compassion.

The volunteers at the bureau deserve special mention for maintaining the dignity of this annual operation. For many people, it isn’t easy to ask for help or to acknowledge the need, but the bureau’s helpers are unfailingly polite and respectful. Those who choose to stand in the long, cold lines at the fairgrounds are ultimately warmed by the volunteers’ compassion.

As one recipient said, “It makes it easy for us, makes it comfortable.”

If you still wish to contribute, you can. Just drop off a donation at The Spokesman-Review’s offices in downtown Spokane (999 W. Riverside Ave.) or Coeur d’Alene (608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200) or mail them to Spokesman-Review Christmas Fund, P.O. Box 516, Spokane, WA 99210. You can also give online at www.spokesman.com (click on the Christmas Fund icon).

Your contributions at this point won’t be tallied as part of this year’s total, but they will give the bureau a head start on next year’s fundraising. And they will be no less appreciated.

We offer sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to this annual cause. You’ve sustained our faith in the community – not that we’re surprised.

In short, you did it again.

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