For almost a century, this newspaper’s Neediest Cases Fund has been an meaningful link between the individuals in Chattanooga and much of the surrounding area who need a helping hand to meet essential needs and those whose good position in life makes it possible for them to aid the less fortunate. That tradition will continue during the 2010 holiday season.
In the weeks between now and Christmas, the Chattanooga Times Free Press invites readers and others to contribute to the Neediest Cases Fund. Every dollar received is turned over to the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, the accredited nonprofit agency which administers the fund. Each gift will be appreciatively acknowledged in the Metro & Region section of the newspaper.
Many gifts are given as a memorial to loved ones. Others honor living family members, friends and co-workers. If history is a guide, gifts this year will come from individuals and families, from businesses, from civic and social clubs, from schools and from community organizations of every type. All the gifts benefit and support the valuable but often unsung work of the Partnership.
The agency operates 20-plus programs at eight sites in Hamilton County and at about a dozen additional locations in southeast Tennessee. It also provides services in three northwest Georgia and in two northeast Alabama counties. The Partnership’s reach and its unblemished record of assistance – it helped more than 74,000 individuals and families last year – validates the agency’s mission and its work.
Partnership programs deliver myriad services to individuals and families throughout the year. For the most part, the United Way and various grants from foundations and corporations underwrite the agency’s worthwhile work. But those funds typically come with rules about the manner in which they can be employed.
The Neediest Cases Fund supplements those designated funds. The gifts from Times Free Press readers and others are deposited in a separate, discretionary account that permits caseworkers to help those whose needs are genuine, but which fail to meet the guidelines of the established programs.
Chattanooga and the surrounding region are well known for generosity, and for the prompt way in which they react to calls for assistance. Campaigns like the United Way and smaller-scale efforts sponsored by civic and religious groups are proof of that. There is a history here, as well, of private generosity. That tradition is evidenced by the many anonymous gifts to the Neediest Cases Fund.
Readers of the Chattanooga Times Free Press have been invariably big-hearted in their support of this newspaper’s annual holiday campaign. They have unhesitatingly answered calls for assistance since Adolph S. Ochs, then publisher of The Chattanooga Times, started the fund nearly 100 years ago.
The giving heart of this community is well known. Consequently, there is every reason to believe that the tradition of helping the less fortunate among us will continue during this holiday season.
Donations to the Neediest Cases Fund can be mailed to The Chattanooga Times Free Press, P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37401-1447, or brought to the newspaper’s office at 400 E. 11th St. through the end of the year. Donations also can be made online at timesfreepress.com/neediestcases. Each tax-deductible contribution will be appreciated by the individuals and families who will benefit from the fund in the coming year.