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Flashback.
It’s Christmas Day 2008, and volunteers with the Goodfellow Fund are counting donations anxiously, hoping to overcome a $17,000 shortfall in their goal to assist nearly 16,000 families.It takes several days to enter all the donations, but by the time they finish counting, the shortfall has been erased, and the charity has posted a new record. Volunteers estimate the fund has collected more than $847,000, nearly $100,000 more than needed, and 15,685 gift cards valued at $50 each have been distributed."It was actually a pretty big high," Richard Greene, Goodfellow Fund executive director, said about the late surge in donations. "It was kind of like watching the No. 5 horse pass the No. 1 horse in the last 80 yards of the race. It was pretty exciting."Now flash forward.Based on what happened last year, Goodfellows officials have increased the goal by $100,000 to $900,000, Greene said. "Applications are running double to triple of what we saw last year," he said. "We’ve already sent out 11,000 cards for interviews for families."It is just incredible that we’ve already had this many applications this early in the campaign. We normally hit our goal for applications during the first week in December. This year, we may hit that goal in the first week of November."Some applications are accompanied by the stories of those who need assistance. Letter after letter tells of women and men who have lost jobs or taken in the children of parents who are in prison or are supporting large families with part-time jobs."It’s obvious that it’s the economy," said Liz Hill, who has volunteered with the Goodfellow Fund for about seven years. Hill, 77, of Benbrook, said that every year she takes one of the letters to her friends and relatives and tries to sweeten Christmas for one of the needy families. This year, she plans to do the same thing for a family that does not meet Goodfellow assistance criteria."This year the need is so great," Hill said. "Last year, the need was such that we had about 3,000 applications that we didn’t even get a chance to open. I suspect it will be even more of the same this year."
To volunteer Call 817-921-9072, ext. 234. You will be mailed a volunteer application. Once the application is returned and approved, someone from the fund will contact you.To apply Applications are available at all Fort Worth libraries and community centers and at libraries in surrounding communities. They are also available at goodfellowfund.com.To contribute Contributions are accepted year-round at Goodfellow Fund, Box 1870, Fort Worth, TX 76101, or at goodfellowfund.com.
MITCH MITCHELL, 817-390-7752
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