Charlotte, NC

It’s been said there’s nothing sadder than a little child who wakes up excitedly on Christmas morning, rushes into the living room where the tree is … and finds nothing underneath. But that’s what’ll happen to many children and their parents this year … unless you and I get involved in the 2007 Empty Stocking Fund.

You see, thanks to the Christmas Bureau here in Charlotte (a clearinghouse partnership among the Empty Stocking Fund, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, The United Way of Central Carolina and The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte), we have a chance to donate to a cause that’s the most noble of all: helping one another in time of need.

Last year, thanks to your generous support, the ESF helped 8,363 families, 15,842 children and 927 senior adults to have a brighter and more cheerful Christmas. It provides money for toys and gifts, and Visa™ gift cards that can be used as the families see fit. The cards are easier to use than the check the Salvation Army used to give, because some of the poorest families don’t have bank accounts.

How dedicated is the staff at the Bureau?? They work at the Christmas Bureau for four and a half days in late December to help 200 families an hour! And that only after months of preparation!

Want to give?

Check should be made out to: The Empty Stocking Fund, P.O. Box 37269, Charlotte, N.C., 28237-7269. Be generous. Remember: Your money can bring a smile, a tear, a thankfulness to a family, a single mom, a disabled dad, or a child to whom life hasn’t been fair. Now, each one of these is a human being with a heart, soul, warmth … and potential … like the rest of us! Show them you care for them, as you hope they’d care for you, were the situation reversed (and, remember: it can be: Look at the fires in California …)

Want to help?

To arrange a toy drive or volunteer at The Christmas Bureau, call 704-716-2643. Just the joyous smile of anticipation, and the happy blush on a child’s face (where, once perhaps, were tears of despair) will make it all worthwhile, I promise.

Do it today, okay? To you, it may be just another Christmas. But to them, it could be the only good one they’ve ever had. Charlotte, let’s dig in and help our own!