Sheldon and Bonnie Post have come across many children over the years whose families have struggled to make it through the holidays.
As retired teachers, it’s a reality that has stuck with the Levittown couple and encouraged them to send a check in to the Give A Christmas fund every year.
“I think it probably makes a big difference to most of these families. I know Kiwanis goes to great lengths to make sure it goes to families who need it most and deserve it most,” said Sheldon.
“We were both teachers and we both obviously enjoyed working with kids. They were our life,” he explained. “Knowing from teaching, if you had say, 35 or so in a class, you knew some weren’t as fortunate as others. We always wanted to give for those who weren’t as fortunate.”
During the holiday season, the Bucks County Courier Times and the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club partner to collect and distribute monetary donations to assist struggling local families through the Give A Christmas campaign. Over the years, the Courier Times readers have contributed more than $4.7 million to help their neighbors in need.
The local community has a persistent history of coming through in support of the campaign, said Mary Berman, Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club board member, past president and one of the main organizers of Give A Christmas.
“When the letters come in, I look geographically where a lot of the letters came from and it’s just amazing how many people are right within the community where their neighbor or somebody might be hurting,” said Berman.
As of this week, the campaign is about a third of the way to its goal of $132,000.
The money collected is distributed primarily as $35 vouchers for children in struggling families in Lower Bucks County. The vouchers are redeemable at participating local supermarkets and other stores to help families buy food for a holiday meal or a gift for a child.
The idea some children could wake up Christmas morning with no presents under a tree compels Margaret Hoisington to make her annual donation to the fund. Even this year, which has been a difficult one since her husband passed away, the Newtown resident thinks of the families she and her late husband had met through their years running an engineering consulting firm.
“We’ve found families that haven’t even had a table to eat at and we’d do what we can to help them. Throughout the years, I’ve seen it all, and I always give,” Hoisington said.
As a long-standing contributor, Hoisington strives to give whatever she can.
“I have lived in the area forever and have contributed over the years, probably since from the very beginning. So, I feel it’s the right thing to do at this time of the year—anything to make other families happy just as we are in our family,” Hoisington said. “Everything adds up, even if it’s a dollar, it means something,” she added.
Sheldon Post agrees every little bit helps and encourages everyone to consider donating what they can because no matter the amount, when it all comes together, he believes it makes a meaningful impact.
“If you can imagine every single person on one street in Levittown donating, that would be quite a bit of money,” he said. “My wife and I are of the opinion, if you can make it a little better for just one family, it’s better than doing nothing. Every family that’s helped is a good thing.”
— Michele Haddon, Special to the Bucks County Courier Times
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