The Giving Season

From this morning's Free Press:

The Giving Season needs donations

Published: Friday, December 15, 2006
Free Press Staff Report

About midway through The Giving Season, The Burlington Free Press' annual holiday campaign to help raise money for local nonprofits, contributions are lagging.

Total donations since the Giving Season started Thanksgiving weekend are $7,777. Through our readers' generous contributions, The Giving Season has helped raise $433,097 since its creation in 1994, including a record $70,233 last year.

The campaign continues to focus on three core agencies that provide people's most basic needs: The Committee on Temporary Shelter; the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf; and WARMTH, an agency that provides heating assistance. This year, in light of devastating and high-profile cases of violence against women in our community, the Free Press added a guest charity: Women Helping Battered Women.

Donations to the four agencies thus far are:

Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf: $1,420

Committee on Temporary Shelter: $2,142

WARMTH Program: $2,615

Women Helping Battered Women: $1,600

The campaign continues through New Year's Day. For more details on the four agencies, along with past stories and other volunteer opportunities, visit www.burlingtonfreepress.com and click on "The Giving Season" logo on the home page, or clip the coupon on Page 2C and send it with your donation.

Last year, they raised over $70,000. This year, they are only at $7,777, so far.

That's kind of weak, unless people are still giving money this year, just to other charities and organizations.

We are giving money to the She's Right compassionate cause for December: Burlington Emergency Shelter and, of course, to our church's benevolent fund, in addition to our regular monthly giving, so we probably won't be giving to the Free Press effort.

I encourage you all to give to this or any cause this Christmas or [insert holiday here]. No matter how little you have, there is always someone with less, who depends on the kindness of caring neighbors like you.