As Christmas Eve and Christmas Day draw closer, the tempo of activity in most homes quickens. There are lists to consult and to amend, gifts to purchase and to wrap, decorations and trees to be put up, repasts to prepare and seasonal events, both secular and religious, to attend. Those activities are a traditional part of the season, but the real spirit of this special time of the year resonates not in the hurly-burly of preparing for the holiday, but in the faith and the love that bind family and friends in a time of joy.
It is that feeling that rouses us to share a season marked by giving and joy with those among us who have little reason to celebrate. As the pages of this paper confirm, many readers and other residents of the area share their blessings by making gifts to the Times Free Press Neediest Cases Fund.
All donations, large or small, are greatly appreciated. All are placed in a fund that allows the Partnership for Families, Adults and Children to cover the costs associated with its work during he coming year. In that time, the Partnership, long the area’s most comprehensive social service agency, will use the gifts from Times Free Press readers and others to help those who need assistance. Every gift contributes to that useful work and each will be acknowledged in the newspapers. Many of those who make gifts to the fund, in fact, do so in honor of loved ones and friends or to commemorate deceased family members or friends.
Honoring or remembering someone by name, or to give in anonymity if one prefers, is in keeping with the spirit of the season. It allows expressions of love for those we see every or almost every day, as well as to recall those no longer with us and whose loss is felt most keenly during this time of year.
We thank the generous benefactors whose generosity has been recorded in the newspaper since the Neediest Cases campaign began at Thanksgiving – and to those who will join their ranks before the holiday season comes to an end.
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 those who will benefit from the fund in the coming year.