thedrifter
11-15-06, 06:04 AM
No cheer without giving
Dennis Rogers, Staff Writer
So where is this "peace on Earth" carolers sing about? Silent night, holy night, you say? Tell it to the Marines in Iraq's Anbar province. Or tell the grunts patrolling Baghdad's bloody streets that there are three wise men to be found anywhere, especially in Washington.
I'm sorry. Maybe you're all psyched for Christmas, and I'm bringing you down. But six weeks out, Christmas is grating like the scream of car tires before a collision.
I'm trying, I really am. I've put out an all-points bulletin for holiday cheer.
Maybe one reason I'm so bummed this Christmas is that after 28 years, this will likely be the last foster children's Christmas tree project I write about.
I met Raleigh's Jane Richardson in 1978 when she told me about the 157 children then in foster homes in Wake County. She said they wouldn't have much of a Christmas unless you and I did something about it.
So we did. I wrote about it, and, God bless you, you came though with $2,500 worth of gifts. That's when I promised Jane we would do it every year.
And we have. Last year, you donated $58,000 worth of cash and gifts for Wake's 534 foster children.
It has been a heartwarming success. In 28 years, Jane estimates you folks have given $750,000 in cash and gifts. The result is that 10,000 children have had a great Christmas.
But all good things come to end, and even angels grow weary. So after this year, the foster kids' Christmas tree program is over. Jane wants to retire, and the project has simply become too big, complicated and bureaucratically demanding for one person to handle. Besides, she has six grandchildren with whom she wants to spend more time over the holidays.
So let's go out with style. The trees with the names and dreams of Wake's foster kids will be at Cary Towne Center and Triangle Town Center for two weeks beginning Friday.
Pick and buy a gift and bring it back to the tree. Volunteers will take it from there. Or you can send a check to Giving Tree Project, P.O. Box 37402, Raleigh, NC 27627. Every little bit helps.
And if you want to volunteer to work at the tree, call Jane at 233-1182. Hint: It's a great club holiday project.
And who knows, maybe there's an ambitious person or group willing to take over the demanding job of running the Giving Tree Project each year. If so, call Jane at 233-1182.
OK, I'm feeling better already. So listen up:
I got an e-mail message from my friend Carol Palmer. She runs the USO in Kuwait.
She wants a Christmas Day gift exchange for her troops, but to do it, she needs gifts to hand out. Things such as CDs, playing cards, phone cards, stationery, book lights, DVDs -- the sort of stocking stuffers your teenagers would like.
Because, sad to say, many of those serving in the war are just lonesome kids a long way from home at Christmas.
"I want the troops to know that Americans at home are thinking of them," Carol writes.
You are, aren't you? Or is the yellow ribbon just for show?
The mailing address is Carol Palmer, USO Camp Buehring, APO AE09330. Time is short, so get on this right away, please. Remember, no cash, checks or liquor, just small gifts.
Dennis Rogers can be reached at 829-4750 or drogers@newsobserver.com.
Ellie
Dennis Rogers, Staff Writer
So where is this "peace on Earth" carolers sing about? Silent night, holy night, you say? Tell it to the Marines in Iraq's Anbar province. Or tell the grunts patrolling Baghdad's bloody streets that there are three wise men to be found anywhere, especially in Washington.
I'm sorry. Maybe you're all psyched for Christmas, and I'm bringing you down. But six weeks out, Christmas is grating like the scream of car tires before a collision.
I'm trying, I really am. I've put out an all-points bulletin for holiday cheer.
Maybe one reason I'm so bummed this Christmas is that after 28 years, this will likely be the last foster children's Christmas tree project I write about.
I met Raleigh's Jane Richardson in 1978 when she told me about the 157 children then in foster homes in Wake County. She said they wouldn't have much of a Christmas unless you and I did something about it.
So we did. I wrote about it, and, God bless you, you came though with $2,500 worth of gifts. That's when I promised Jane we would do it every year.
And we have. Last year, you donated $58,000 worth of cash and gifts for Wake's 534 foster children.
It has been a heartwarming success. In 28 years, Jane estimates you folks have given $750,000 in cash and gifts. The result is that 10,000 children have had a great Christmas.
But all good things come to end, and even angels grow weary. So after this year, the foster kids' Christmas tree program is over. Jane wants to retire, and the project has simply become too big, complicated and bureaucratically demanding for one person to handle. Besides, she has six grandchildren with whom she wants to spend more time over the holidays.
So let's go out with style. The trees with the names and dreams of Wake's foster kids will be at Cary Towne Center and Triangle Town Center for two weeks beginning Friday.
Pick and buy a gift and bring it back to the tree. Volunteers will take it from there. Or you can send a check to Giving Tree Project, P.O. Box 37402, Raleigh, NC 27627. Every little bit helps.
And if you want to volunteer to work at the tree, call Jane at 233-1182. Hint: It's a great club holiday project.
And who knows, maybe there's an ambitious person or group willing to take over the demanding job of running the Giving Tree Project each year. If so, call Jane at 233-1182.
OK, I'm feeling better already. So listen up:
I got an e-mail message from my friend Carol Palmer. She runs the USO in Kuwait.
She wants a Christmas Day gift exchange for her troops, but to do it, she needs gifts to hand out. Things such as CDs, playing cards, phone cards, stationery, book lights, DVDs -- the sort of stocking stuffers your teenagers would like.
Because, sad to say, many of those serving in the war are just lonesome kids a long way from home at Christmas.
"I want the troops to know that Americans at home are thinking of them," Carol writes.
You are, aren't you? Or is the yellow ribbon just for show?
The mailing address is Carol Palmer, USO Camp Buehring, APO AE09330. Time is short, so get on this right away, please. Remember, no cash, checks or liquor, just small gifts.
Dennis Rogers can be reached at 829-4750 or drogers@newsobserver.com.
Ellie