Goodfellow Fund changes interview process to help Tarrant families in need

Help during the holidays is available from the Goodfellow Fund. There is one catch, however.

Those asking for help need to show up to receive it, something that Executive Director Richard Greene noted has become a primary concern for the campaign this holiday season.

He said they’ve seen an increase in the number of applicants not coming in for their short interview for the last couple of years, Greene said.

The Goodfellow Fund is the Star-Telegram charity that is once again helping to make the holidays better for children in need throughout Tarrant County. With the aid of their many volunteers, the organization is once again providing a $50 tax-free gift certificate for each child for new clothing from Old Navy, with a goal of serving 13,000 children.

Greene said numerous steps have been taken in the past several months to increase the number of families applying for assistance.

But for those who have applied, a mystery remains. Why would they not all come in for the short interview required to verify their need and to provide them with the gift that will satisfy both a need and a joy for their children?

Changes in the interview process

Greene said the excuses for missing their interview are typically a) they forgot, or B) they had a conflict with the time, such as children or work responsibilities.

However, there have been some pretty “interesting” excuses, including what he called the oddest of all, “Their dog ate the appointment letter.”

That, of course, might have been an appropriate time for the applicant to double check on the homework assignment.

This year, in an effort to help alleviate the problem, the organization changed the interviews from a specific time to coming in anytime on a specific day. Greene said a concern in the past was that the volunteers vetting the applicant would be overwhelmed with applicants during certain times of the day. Additionally, the applicant may have to wait longer to be served.

Greene also assured the Goodfellow staff will stay as long as it takes to see any applicants who come in on that day.

“We want to serve as many families as possible and not have them have to make another trip for a subsequent interview day,” he said.

Interviews

Interviews are conducted in Fort Worth at the Travis Avenue Baptist Church on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. In Arlington they are conducted at the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church on Mondays and Wednesdays. No interviews are held Thanksgiving week as Greene noted both the volunteers and applicant families are busy with their own holiday plans.

No proxies — with certain exceptions — or virtual interviews are allowed. However, there is a dedicated phone number and dedicated email address posted on the Goodfellow Fund website to accommodate those with a conflict of the scheduled interview date.

“To date we’ve received a number of requests and have worked to accommodate each of them,” Greene said. “As a part of the ‘reschedule’ conversation we let the applicant know that a family member, neighbor, church associate or friend may come in for them. But the individual must bring the applicant’s Identification and the additional documentation that supports their residency, child’s age, number of children in school and income.

“This is done for the integrity of the Goodfellow Fund. The donor can be assured that their gift goes to families with the most need and each family is individually qualified.”

If you would like to help, go to the Goodfellow Fund website at goodfellowfundfw.com.

“It only takes six or seven ‘clicks’ to make a difference in the holiday season for thousands of children,” Greene said.

About the Goodfellow Fund

The story on the Goodfellow website describes its beginning as an offshoot of the first newspaper charity drive in the United States, started by the Chicago Tribune on Dec. 10, 1909. A Chicago city attorney wrote a letter challenging his friends to donate the money they would have spent on holiday partying to charity.

A couple years later, the Advertising Club of Fort Worth staged the first local Goodfellow campaign. On the day after Thanksgiving in 1912, Publisher Amon G. Carter brought the tradition to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

To find out more, or to learn more about helping, visit goodfellowfundfw.com. The post office box for donations and correspondence is P.O. Box 149, Fort Worth, TX. 76101.