Goodfellows is bigger than ever. Here’s how you can help Tarrant County’s holiday charity

The Star-Telegram’s holiday tradition is bigger than ever — twice as big, in fact.

The annual Goodfellow Fund holiday giveaway is soon to get underway, as always with the emphasis on helping children from families in need get new clothing. And this year, the fund will be featuring a $100 tax-free gift card given to approved families to be redeemed at Old Navy stores — an increase from $50 in years past.

“The Goodfellow Fund is hopeful that the increase will encourage more families to apply,” said Goodfellow Fund Executive Director Richard Greene, also noting, “To date the number of applications has increased by approximately 15%.”

Applications were accepted through mid-November. Now, volunteers are conducting interviews applicants to ensure families meet the Goodfellow Fund criteria. Evaluations and interviews will be conducted through Dec. 5 in Fort Worth and Arlington.

Families that have applied and are chosen will join the hundreds of thousands of families that have benefited from the charity since it began in 1912.

“We hope to serve more than 13,000 children families this season,” Greene said, acknowledging that is a 30% increase over last year. “So many families this year have been so appreciative of the increase of the amount of assistance to $100 per child.

“All thanks to the very generous support of the Tarrant County community,” he added with a smile.

Greene said the Goodfellow Fund can be simply described as an opportunity for big folks to help little folks. When the fund began in 1912, less fortunate families were provided food and firewood, evolving over the years to the program now providing new clothes.

But all with the same mission: to bring something special to families and children in this celebrated time of year.

Even in 2020, when the COVID pandemic was sweeping the nation and certain protocols were in place, the Goodfellow Fund still came through. It partnered with the Tarrant Area Food Bank to provide a holiday meal to 5,000 area families.

The story on the Goodfellows 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 Goodfellows campaign. On the day after Thanksgiving in 1912, Publisher Amon G. Carter brought the tradition to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Some folks wrap the gift cards or the clothing purchased with the card to put under the trees so children have presents to open Christmas morning. Others let the children wear their new clothes as they’re purchased.

Either way, it makes the season brighter and memorable for many children who might otherwise go without.

Once again, as he done for so long, Greene stressed the Goodfellow Fund couldn’t do what they do without its donors and volunteers.

“The success of the campaign depends on generous readers and donors,” he said, adding excitedly, “Thanks to the volunteers! We absolutely could not provide this help without the over 100 trained volunteers that will contribute thousands of hours conducting a personal interview with each family to ensure the family is qualified as to identification, residence, income and number of children in school.”

Throughout its history, the Goodfellow Fund has benefited greatly from the giving of community organizations. The Exchange Club of Fort Worth has historically led in this effort, including last year when it donated over $500,000 at its annual holiday luncheon.

While many other folks have also helped repeatedly over the years, the charity is always looking for new and additional donors.

“This year with the increase of the gift card amount, we need new and additional donors more than ever,” Green explained.

Donations can be made through the Goodfellow Fund secure website at goodfellowfundfw.com or mailed to: The Goodfellow Fund, P.O. Box 149, Fort Worth, TX 76101.