2017 Give A Christmas campaign marks 60 years of holiday giving

Each holiday season, the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club delivers two gifts that nourish the souls of people who need them most: hope and love.

The volunteer club, a local chapter of the global Kiwanis International organization, provides that spiritual balm through Give A Christmas.

Now in its 60th year, Give A Christmas is an altruistic campaign that partners the Bucks County Courier Times and the local Kiwanis club. It centers on collecting and distributing monetary donations to families experiencing financial hardship in Lower Bucks County.

“Give A Christmas is a proud legacy for the employees of the Bucks County Courier Times,” said Amy Gianficaro, the news organization’s director of communications and community engagement. “For 60 years, the fund has provided help at the holidays to families who truly need it.”

Typically, the money is dispersed as $25 vouchers for children. The vouchers are redeemable at participating local supermarkets — Acme, Redner’s Market, Selecto Market — and other stores, including Barnes & Noble and Burlington Coat Factory.

Through that tangible assistance, Give A Christmas also provides a light to people in dark times — shows them that others care and there is hope, which can be as important as the practical aid itself, organizers said.

“It is important to let those who need help and who have difficulty financially in our community know that we care about them and their children at Christmas,” said Howie Kay, a Kiwanis volunteer involved with Give A Christmas. “This is a time when we share our love and joy with our families. How can we ignore our neighbors who otherwise would have little to celebrate during this festive time?”

While called Give A Christmas in the spirit of good will and generosity traditionally associated with the holiday, the assistance the campaign provides is available to people regardless of religious background.

Last year, more than 1,000 Courier Times readers contributed $112,232.82 to Give A Christmas in gift amounts ranging from $5 to $2,000. Those funds allowed for the distribution of vouchers to 4,651 children in Lower Bucks County. The Kiwanis Club distributed more than $116,000 in assistance during the 2016 holiday season, pulling some money from the fund’s balance. Some additional fund money was spent outside of the holiday to provide emergency assistance to families and in support of the food insecure.

For the 2017 season, Give A Christmas aims to raise $120,000. That total would add to an already impressive tally of more than $4.5 million — the amount of funds donated to the campaign over its long-running history.

Sadly, the money is needed. In Bucks County, 6.6 percent of the population — some 41,818 people — are living below the poverty line.

“We do this because we know some of our neighbors need help and we care,” said Kay. “It’s called love.”

Educators in Lower Bucks County schools play an important role in helping the Kiwanis Club and Courier Times with the outreach effort, requesting letters from families in need and then providing them to the club for vouchers.

Other agencies that deal with children, neighbors, friends and needy families also provide names of people grappling with financial hardship. Senior citizens in need may also receive vouchers after the requests from families with children have been met.

Kay encouraged Courier readers to donate generously. It could, he noted, help produce a positive ripple effect through the community.

“We need to help each other.”

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