2019 Give A Christmas returns for 62nd year of holiday cheer

It may amount to a tank of gas for some, or a fast food run for others. For thousands of needy kids and their families, though, $25 could amount to a truly happy holiday season.

That’s a truth Mary Berman has learned the last six years she has been involved with the annual Give A Christmas fundraiser as a board member and past president of the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club. The Bucks County Courier Times has partnered with the Kiwanis Club for more than 60 years to raise donations for the Give A Christmas fund. That money is then given to local families facing financial hardships in the form of $25 vouchers redeemable at participating stores in the area.

“The people that receive the donations live on extremely low income and have difficulty paying everyday bills,” Berman said. “Often we see families using the vouchers to buy food just to have a decent holiday meal. I was a school teacher for more than 30 years, and I have seen the recipients’ kids who would not have had any kind of a Christmas without this drive.”

The campaign begins Sunday with a fundraising goal of $120,000, matching last year’s goal. In 2018, the Give A Christmas fundraiser earned $120,106.48 from 913 contributions, leading to 4,100 vouchers dispersed. The leftover money is kept in a fund to help the needy throughout the rest of the year.

“I’m thrilled we have the privilege of working with the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club again this year,” Executive Editor Shane Fitzgerald said. “Courier Times readers have a long history of using the Give A Christmas program to help those in the most need at this time of year. It’s so humbling to have that kind of support.”

As the Courier Times helps keep the money coming in throughout the season, it’s up to volunteers at the Kiwanis Club to go through requests and responsibly distribute the donations. The top focus is on children in the Lower Bucks communities, stretching from Bristol to the Council Rock area. Kiwanis works with nurses at public and parochial schools to discreetly find the children most in need of the money. Requests can also be sent to the Kiwanis Club of Levittown-Bristol Foundation Inc., PO Box 841 in Levittown.

“Our main goal is to help children in our community,” Berman said. “We also help senior citizens and others in need. If somebody is running out of oil, they could call us and we can get an oil truck there that night. Last year there was a woman who was homeless with two children who needed winter clothes, and we got the kids some winter clothes.”

Each recipient is given one $25 voucher. They can be redeemed at the Acme supermarket locations on New Falls Road in Levittown, Bristol Road in Bensalem and Second Street Pike in Richboro, Redner’s Market in Bensalem and Levittown, Selecto Market in Bristol Borough and the Burlington Stores in Oxford Valley and at the Philadelphia Mills Mall.

“The voucher looks like a check, and they don’t receive any change when it is redeemed,” Berman said. “If they use it to buy $19 of items, they don’t get any cash back. The stores send the vouchers to the parent companies, which then come to us for the money.”

 

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