Author: cveltri

You can help your neighbors by supporting Give A Christmas, the charitable holiday drive run by the Bucks County Courier Times and the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis. All donations go to local families in need.

Income has gone up and poverty rates have gone down in Bucks County, but those numbers have not erased the ongoing need for homeless, hungry and low-income residents. The county’s human services budget continues to increase, and local non-profits are assisting more individuals and families than ever.

“Our numbers go up each year as more people come in with an array of issues trying to overcome the barriers for sustainable housing,” said Nicki Bedesem, director of communications for Family Service Association of Bucks County. “Our costs go up as well as we add more services and work to meet all their needs.”

The holidays are a particularly difficult time for those in need, but there are ways to help.

For more than 60 years, the Bucks County Courier Times has partnered with the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club to bring a bit of holiday cheer to families who are struggling to make ends meet. The goal is to raise $120,000, which will provide more than 4,000 vouchers.

Volunteers at the Kiwanis Club go through requests and 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.

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.

But the need is great year-round, social services agencies say.

FSA has assisted 479 people, including 172 children, at its shelter — the only 24/7 shelter serving individuals, children and families — between July 2018 and June 2019. The organization also provides numerous services out of its Bristol, Langhorne and Quakertown offices, including drug and alcohol treatment, mental health and wellness programs and medical case management for HIV and AIDS patients.

Combined, the organization has assisted 7,052 people in Bucks County in the last fiscal year ended June 30. It’s a number that goes up each year, regardless of the county’s demographic numbers.

The U.S. Census Bureau recorded a 6.1% poverty level in Bucks County for 2017, down from 6.6% in 2016. The bureau’s latest American Community Survey also shows the county’s median income went up 5% to $88,569 from $84,749. Additionally, the county’s annual homeless count held each January showed a 9.6% decrease from 2018 to 359 people.

The needs of the at-risk population have not gone away, however, with about 50,000 in Bucks County who are food insecure, 34% of which are children, according to numbers provided by the Bucks County Opportunity Council. The county also has approximately 38,000 people at or below the poverty threshold, or $24,750 household income for a family of four.

Bucks County’s Department of Housing and Human Services has seen its budget go up each year as it provides services to the county’s most vulnerable. The department’s preliminary 2020 expenses have gone up 4.4% from 2018, to $93.16 million. This year’s increase can mostly be attributed to regular increases in staff salaries and cost of services and not a sudden spike in the needy population, said Christina Finello, deputy director for the housing and human services department.

Bucks County’s social service agencies have become more efficient and better coordinated to handle the needs of the homeless and low-income population. Erin Lukoss, executive director of the Bucks County Opportunity Council, reached that conclusion in light of numbers showing decreased poverty in the county but an increase in the number of people assisted by organizations like the BCOC and FSA.

“What we are definitely seeing is more people doing a better job marketing and coordinating services,” said Lukoss from her Doylestown office. “In the past, someone would make five or six phone calls, and if they didn’t get anywhere they would move on or just give up. Now, all of the organizations are working together much better and more effectively to make referrals. We’ve become better at helping people.”

The BCOC and the Keystone Opportunity Center partners each holiday season with this news organization’s sister publication, The Intelligencer, for its own Give A Christmas fundraiser. Lukoss and her team at BCOC work to keep that generosity thriving year-round to supplement the revenue from local, state and federal sources.

“The government funding helps us achieve our primary goals,” Lukoss said. “If we need to help somebody move into housing, government funding is the perfect match. There are limits on what we can use that funding, though. Private funding is where we can be more creative and think outside the box.”

Giving Tuesday is an opportunity to support your neighbors in need.

Right now in Bucks County, there’s a single mother who can’t afford to keep the lights on. There’s a homeless veteran shivering in the cold, in need of shelter and a leg up to start anew. There’s a woman struggling to find the strength to leave an abusive relationship.

These are just a sampling of the unpleasant realities that local nonprofits confront every day. More importantly, they’re the realities these organizations combat against, working tirelessly to transform the sad situations into stories of hope and, with a little luck, happy endings.

Still, it takes community support for area nonprofits to execute their missions. For many, charitable donations – be they money, volunteer service and/or tangible products — from individuals, families and businesses are essential.

And with Giving Tuesday nearly here, now is the perfect time for the community to step up and deliver what these charities desperately need.

Giving Tuesday, or #GivingTuesday as it’s often stylized to encourage social media exposure, falls on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving — Dec. 3 this year. The 92Y, a New York City-based nonprofit, conceived the idea. In collaboration with the United Nations Foundation, 92Y launched the holiday in 2012.

Giving Tuesday’s purpose is simple yet profound: Encourage people to set aside the commercialism of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the like and return to the true spirit of the holiday season by donating money, time and/or goods to charities and nonprofits.

The holiday’s purpose has found increasing success. In 2012, more than 2,500 nonprofits participated, which generated about $10 million in online fundraising, according to a Fast Company report. In 2017, giving totaled at least as high as $300 million, according to transaction data from online giving platforms and payment processors like PayPal, Blackbaud, and Facebook.

“We see a surge of donations on Giving Tuesday,” said Nicki Bedesem, director of communications at Langhorne-based Family Service Association of Bucks County, a nonprofit that helps the homeless. “We run specific email and social media campaigns on Giving Tuesday, so people can easily click to donate. We receive donations from community members that are designated toward a specific program or project.”

Family Service Association is just one of the area organizations that locals can support. Another initiative to consider is the Give A Christmas Fund run by the Bucks County Courier Times newspapers. Administered by the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club, the money is 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.”

That includes folks like 14-year-old Mike, his 10-year-old brother and their grandmother. The grandmother is the full-time caretaker of the boys. Bad breaks led the family to be evicted from their duplex. Unable to find a place they could afford, the family ended up “couch-surfing” for several months, with the boys often sleeping on floors. That changed when they came to the Keystone Opportunity Center, which helped situate the family in a home of their own.

“The support we receive on Giving Tuesday — and throughout the holiday season — enables us to help fight homelessness, hunger and barriers to education in Montgomery and Bucks counties,” said Malcolm Friend, director of resource development at Keystone Opportunity Center.

Other local nonprofits say Giving Tuesday provides a platform for increased support — support that gets translated into do-gooding.

Sometimes, the generosity is more hands-on than financial, and that’s fine with some organizations, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County.

“We’ve had several companies donate their time to do projects, such as paint and make minor repairs, to the Victorian-era home that we’re based in,” said Sharon A. McCoy, customer relations specialist/community relations coordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County, which provides for one-to-one mentoring relationships between adults and youth.

McCoy continued: “We’ve also had individuals who have helped with office work or mailings, or who’ve created and supplied materials for a craft or other activities. We have a business that donates and assembles children’s bikes, which we distribute during the holidays.”

Elsewhere, the Doylestown-based Travis Manion Foundation has created a 2019 Giving Tuesday campaign that’s geared toward funding a Survivor Expedition, which involves several families of fallen military members coming together to serve a community in need as a way to honor the legacy of their late loved ones.

“We see an increase in donations around Giving Tuesday. We’ve taken Giving Tuesday and used it as a way for us to kick off our end-of-year giving,” said Derrick Morgan, director of marketing for the foundation, which aims to empower veterans and families of fallen military heroes to develop character in future generations.

A Woman’s Place, a Doylestown Township-headquartered nonprofit that provides free and private services to people experiencing domestic violence in Bucks County, said that the Giving Tuesday donations it receives are usually under $5,000, often falling in the range of $25 to $100. Still, “gifts made on Giving Tuesday are often from new donors, or are a second gift from those who donate a larger amount at another time of year,” said Rita G. Brouwer-Ancher, AWP’s director of development.

Furthermore, the significance of Giving Tuesday goes beyond dollars and cents for A Woman’s Place. This year, AWP is doing an email blast that offers details about all of its programs. “Giving Tuesday gives us an excellent opportunity to tell our story,” said Brouwer-Ancher. “It offers AWP another touch point to current and latent donors. The day’s impact is felt in the opportunity to share AWP’s story, in union with hundreds of other non-profits throughout the country.”

Said Morgan: “Giving Tuesday is a great resource for the nonprofit community because it reminds the public that the holidays aren’t just about buying the hot new item for someone on your list, but are really about keeping the ‘giving’ in the season of giving.”

 

Spare time comes at a premium for any working parent bogged down with responsibilities inside and outside the home.

With her daughters grown and moving out of the house, Croydon resident Jill Saul used a careful eye to decide where she wanted to spend her extra minutes and hours. The search quickly ended, however, when she found the Levittown Bristol Kiwanis Club eight years ago.

“Somebody I knew asked me to join,” said Saul, who taught special education at Harry S. Truman High School at the time. “It was an easy decision because the Kiwanis is all about helping children. That focus means a lot to me, it’s been a part of my career and entire life.”

Saul helped the club’s efforts when she could fit in the time around her school duties and home life. After her retirement in 2018, Saul finally had a chance to really dig in and become a truly active member. Saul served as vice president last year and has been selected club president for the 2019-20 season.

“It’s a great group with good people that quickly become your friends,” said Saul. “My goal this year is to continue to help as many children as possible and recruit new members to grow the organization.”

The Levittown Bristol Kiwanis Club has 23 active members, Saul said, and right now they are all focused on raising money for the annual Give A Christmas fundraiser. The group has partnered with the Bucks County Courier Times to raise up to $120,000 that will be donated to needy children in the form of $25 vouchers, which can be redeemed at partnering retail stores.

Now in its 62nd year, the Give a Christmas drive is the Levittown Bristol Kiwanis Club’s largest fundraiser and one of two major events organized by the group. The club also has its hands full each spring with the Sesame Place Classic 5K, which benefits the Dick Dougherty Scholarship Fund. The race enters its 22nd year in May, and has raised more than $400,000 in scholarships for Bucks County high school seniors headed to college.

The two fundraisers take a lot of time and energy to organize and manage, yet members of the Levittown Bristol Kiwanis Club know children need help all year long. The rest of their charitable efforts may not make the same big splash as Give A Christmas and the Sesame Classic, but every little bit makes a noticeable difference.

“We’re not the greatest at promoting ourselves,” said Saul. “We’re quiet volunteers that like to hunker down and do the work. It’s a real word-of-mouth organization.”

That work includes partnering with Advocates for Homeless & Those in Need (AHTN) to serve hot meals to the outdoor homeless population in Lower Bucks once a month. That was where Kiwanis members learned that the usual plastic ware accompanying the meals couldn’t cut through the meat. The volunteers quickly got to work putting together four-piece sets of stainless steel utensils as replacements. Kiwanis volunteers also collect socks and personal care products for the homeless, and they give hat and gloves to crossing guards for children walking to school who don’t have them.

“The Lower Bucks community has been wonderfully generous for many years,” said Saul. “People give as much of their own time and money as they can to help others who need it, and we recognize how difficult that can be sometimes.”

 

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.”

 

Give A Christmas program starts Sunday, Nov. 17. Our previous owners, the Calkins family, picked up the initiative 62 years ago at the Bucks County Courier Times, combining with the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club, which initiated the program.

The Calkins family then brought it to the Burlington County Times 52 years ago and to The Intelligencer 32 years ago. Two years ago, our generous community surpassed the $10 million mark in total funds raised overall and Courier Times readers last year brought in $119,000-plus.

Our ownership has changed, but our commitment to this endeavor has not. All proceeds go back into the distribution funds and overhead costs are absorbed by the Courier Times, The Intelligencer, and the Burlington County Times and their charitable partners.

The Bucks County Courier Times partners with the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club to collect and distribute monetary donations. The money collected is distributed primarily as $25 vouchers for children in struggling families in Lower Bucks County. Readers historically have supported the Give A Christmas fund with heartfelt generosity, but expenses have been greater than income for the past few years. That means our charitable partners received eligible requests for assistance from families in need that exceeded the money the newspapers collected. This year, we set a goal of $120,000 to help those in need.

Bucks County residents with children are primarily those who are considered for assistance, and the Kiwanis Club works with its partners and local schools to distribute vouchers to local retailers and supermarkets throughout the community. Readers can find information to submit requests and give donations at our website www.couriertimes.com/giveachristmas or find information daily in our Community pages.

Last year, thousands of Bucks County children benefited from the program, mostly from modest to large donations from readers. Every dollar counts and is important so no contribution is too small. We honor those who donate by recognizing them in our publications, publishing almost-daily lists of donors. Over and over, when needs come up, residents show their generosity through their wallets.

Sometimes, Give A Christmas proceeds provide a gift for kids who might not get one. Other times, it helps pay the utility or food bills. And it’s not just about Christmas. It helps anyone in need, regardless of their faith or politics.

We live in a great area and are fortunate to be where we are. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same opportunities or resources and often people get in a bad way through no fault of their own.

So as you’re considering your holiday charity giving this season, we ask you to donate to our Give A Christmas fund. Every little bit helps — we’ve received everything from $1 to thousands of dollars in donations and each benefits someone. Have a great holiday season, and I hope the gift of giving is in your budget.

Shane Fitzgerald is Atlantic Sub-Regional Executive Editor for GateHouse Media, including the Bucks County Courier Times and 20 other publications in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and Maryland. Contact him at sfitzgerald@couriertimes.com.

Since mid-November, more than 900 people, families, organizations, community groups and businesses have opened their hearts and wallets to assist their neighbors in Lower Bucks County.

Since mid-November, more than 900 people, families, organizations, community groups and businesses have opened their hearts and wallets to assist their neighbors in Lower Bucks County.

That generosity to the annual Give A Christmas fund has brought the holiday spirit into hundreds of homes where it was most needed.

During the 61st year of the effort, the Bucks County Courier Times and the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club partnered to collect and distribute help to struggling local families.

This effort has helped provide a variety of assistance to individuals and families in our community.

If you have not yet contributed this year’s effort, there is still time to donate. Make checks payable to Give A Christmas and mail to Give A Christmas, P.O. Box 841, Levittown, PA 19058.

Just days before Christmas, Bucks Family Medicine, a Levittown medical office, made a huge donation to the annual fund to help neighbors in need.

“Merry Christmas from Bucks Family Medicine” read the message from the Levittown medical office. A donation of $10,000 to this year’s Give A Christmas fund was included.

Mary Berman, president of the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club, immediately thought of the huge impact such a gift would make.

“The donation moves us so much closer to our goal of helping us meet the needs of so many more families in our community,” Berman said Wednesday. “It’s wonderful.”

The annual fund, done in partnership with the Bucks County Courier Times, helps provide assistance to those in need during the holiday season. Last year, the effort helped more than 4,000 children in need.

“It’s just phenomenal that the outreach of the community helps us to ensure that this effort to help others occurs,” Berman said.

The annual fund, in its 61st year, distributes funds primarily as $25 vouchers for children in struggling families in Lower Bucks County. The vouchers are redeemable at participating local supermarkets and other stores.

In the 2017 holiday season, donors contributed $114,812.31 which allowed for the distribution of vouchers to 4,155 children in Lower Bucks County. This year’s fund goal is $120,000.

The Bucks County Courier Times is a partner in this effort.

“No matter the size of the donation, each and every dollar given to this fund truly helps someone in need,” Courier Times managing editor Karen Kane Naylor said. “It’s a wonderful thing to see how our local community comes together every year to ensure that everyone shares in the spirit of the holiday season.”

Donations to fund are still be accepted and can be sent to Give A Christmas, Bucks County Courier Times, 8400 N. Bristol Pike, Levittown, PA 19057.

Make checks payable to Give A Christmas and include the donation form found in print in the daily newspaper or available for download at BucksCountyCourierTimes.com/GiveaChristmas. If you don’t have the form, send a note with your donation that includes you name, town, phone number (not for publication), donation amount and any message you wish to have published with your gift. Also indicate how you wish your name to be listed or if your donation is anonymous.

The Gene and Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund will match up to a total of $2,500 in donations to the annual Give A Christmas fund.

If it were up to philanthropist Gene Epstein, the Give A Christmas fund would be run every day of the year.

“It’s incumbent on everyone to make things better for everybody,” he said Wednesday while sharing the news that the Gene and Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund is joining in the holiday fundraising effort.

Donations are still needed to help the annual fund meet its goal of helping neighbors in need during the holiday season. Last year, more than 4,000 children in the area received vouchers to help provide gifts and food for the holidays.

Beginning immediately and running through Jan. 3, the Epsteins’ fund will match reader donations up to a total of $2,500.

“It’s such an incredible feeling for me to see how something like (Give A Christmas) can change a life,” said Epstein, a county resident of more than 40 years.

Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club President Mary Berman was “thrilled” to hear of the couple’s offer.

“It’s just absolutely amazing to see how people are willing to step up and help,” she said.

Donations to the 61st annual fund can be to Give A Christmas, Bucks County Courier Times, 8400 N. Bristol Pike, Levittown, PA 19057.

Make checks payable to Give A Christmas and include the donation form found in print in the daily newspaper or available for download at BucksCountyCourierTimes.com/GiveaChristmas. If you don’t have the form, send a note with your donation that includes you name, town, phone number (not for publication), donation amount and any message you wish to have published with your gift. Also indicate how you wish your name to be listed or if your donation is anonymous.

$10,000 donation for fund

“Merry Christmas from Bucks Family Medicine” read the message from the Levittown medical office. A donation of $10,000 to this year’s Give A Christmas fund was included.

Mary Berman, president of the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club, immediately thought of the huge impact such a gift would make.

“The donation moves us so much closer to our goal of helping us meet the needs of so many more families in our community,” Berman said. “It’s wonderful.”

The annual fund, done in partnership with the Bucks County Courier Times, helps provide assistance to those in need during the holiday season. Last year, the effort helped more than 4,000 children in need.

“It’s just phenomenal that the outreach of the community helps us to ensure that this effort to help others occurs,” Berman said.

Give A Christmas, which is run by the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club in partnership with the Bucks County Courier Times, works year after year to give at least 4,000 Bucks children a smile on Christmas morning. This year, Give A Christmas has enough to give some vouchers to financially struggling families, but still not enough to reach the $120,000 fundraising goal.

Times were beyond difficult. And Christmas was coming.

A Middletown mother of three left her abusive husband to start a new life. Shortly after she was diagnosed with two types of cancer, giving her three to five years to live. Instead of fully enjoying time left with her children, she worried how she would feed them as she fought a constant battle with Social Security disability and Medicare.

Thanks to your heartwarming donations to Give A Christmas, those kids, and thousands more, experienced the spirit of a giving during the holiday season.

“My children are my pride and joy, and the reason I do everything. I would give them my life, if I had to,” the mother wrote to Give A Christmas last year. “And it is because of my children that I decided in 2010 to leave their father who was abusing me.”

Her story is at the heart of Give A Christmas, with the community helping neighbors in need throughout Lower Bucks by alleviating some of life’s burden a little around Christmas.

Give A Christmas, which is run by the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club in partnership with the Bucks County Courier Times, works year after year to give at least 4,000 Bucks children a smile on Christmas morning. This year, Give A Christmas has enough to give some vouchers to financially struggling families, but still not enough to reach the $120,000 fundraising goal.

It’s not too late to donate. The Give A Christmas campaign will take money well after Christmas, saving it for the following year. You can donate anytime throughout the year.

It makes a difference to the child who has a new toy or the one who is warm and cozy in the winter jacket that was purchased and gifted with the assistance of a $25 voucher that donors help fund.

One Bensalem mother struggling last year to give her two children a Christmas with gifts under the tree was grateful for the help.

“I will really appreciate to see the little ones with a smile on their little faces,” she wrote to Give A Christmas.

You made those smiles happen.

The fund gets all kinds of requests for assistance, including grandparents caring for their grandchildren, single fathers who have just enough to keep the household running and single moms dealing with health issues, making it difficult to work.

“I am (in) desperate need for Christmas,” wrote another single mother last year. “The person I was living with decided to leave without notice and left me with rent and all the bills to pay. My paychecks for December now have to cover my December rent.”

Your generous donations brought Christmas to this home. Make it happen for other families in need during the holiday season.

The list of financially struggling families is long and assistance from the community helps families have some small relief, at least for the holiday season.

Anyone can fall on hard times. It can happen at any time. And it can be especially difficult for grandparents who are caring for grandchildren on their already tight, fixed incomes.

“I’m writing on behalf granddaughter,” wrote one grandmother last year to Give A Christmas. “My daughter is disabled and waiting to hear if she’s approved for disability benefits. Her and her 4 ½-year-old daughter live with me. I’m 62 and work two part-time jobs (10-hour days) but have fallen behind in all of my bills.

“We were almost evicted a week ago but saved the apartment for the time being, but I’m already late for December’s rent. My paychecks are not enough to support three people.”

That family managed to have Christmas because of the community’s big-hearted donations.

But the Give A Christmas campaign — run by the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club in partnership with the Bucks County Courier Times — can’t continue helping children open a gift from Santa without you.

“There is no money at all to put some presents under the tree this year for (my granddaughter),” the rest of the woman’s letter reads. “I truly hope you can help make a little girl’s Christmas happy. I’d be heartbroken if there was nothing under the tree for her.”

This year marks the 61st year of Give A Christmas. But with less than three weeks away from Christmas, donations are far from the goal of assisting the usual 4,000-plus children with a $25 voucher from the Kiwanis.

Just this week, Mary Berman, president of the Kiwanis, opened a heart-wrenching message from an incarcerated mother.

“I received a letter yesterday from a girl that is in Bucks County Correctional Facility and her mom had her kids. She was asking for help for her,” Berman said.

There are many requests for help from grandparents filling in for parents and trying to provide a holiday for young grandchildren, she said.

“Grandparents are a very big part of raising the children” Berman said. “As you can see, grandparents on limited income have a really tough time.”

The list of financially struggling families is long and it’s assistance from the community that helps these families have some small relief, at least for the holiday season.

“I’m writing to you to ask for help for granddaughters,” wrote another grandparent.

One of her granddaughters is a toddler whose mother lost her job and received little from unemployment. Her second granddaughter also is a toddler, living with her single mother.

“She works but it’s enough to keep (her daughter) in (diapers) and clothes. As for me, I do work but also income goes towards the bills and rent,” the grandmother wrote. “I feel so bad for the girls. They deserve a Christmas at their ages.

“I’m asking from my heart that you would be able to help me give them a Christmas this year.”