10/15/16 — Empty Stocking welcomes donations

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Empty Stocking welcomes donations

By Staff Reports
Published in News on October 15, 2016 10:11 PM

The fund provides toys, clothes and even a party for them.

But it all depends on you.

Generous donors are the backbone of the fund and The News-Argus simply serves as the collection point for the thousands of dollars that are needed to make the fund a success.

"It's a way to do a good deed for a child you don't know," Empty Stocking Fund treasurer Amy Records said. "By giving, you're making Goldsboro and Wayne County a better place, a more loving place."

The Empty Stocking Fund, a strictly volunteer-run project first established in 1912, provides for children ages 3 through 10 who wouldn't have a merry Christmas otherwise.

Every year, more and more children need help, and the community has continued to respond, Mrs. Records said.

It's because of the kind of community Wayne County is that the fund has never failed to reach its goal, she added.

Those who contribute to the Empty Stocking Fund will be acknowledged daily in the Goldsboro News-Argus, unless they prefer to remain anonymous. Donations can also be made to the fund in honor or in memory of someone, if the giver so chooses.

The children who are the recipients are recommended by the school system and go through an application process to ensure they qualify.

And every cent of the money contributed to the fund goes directly to the children. The fund is manned entirely by unpaid volunteers.

All of the hard work to raise that money will culminate with the surprised looks and smiling faces of children during a December Christmas party, which is coordinated by The News-Argus.

People who wish to give to the Empty Stocking Fund can do so by bringing in contributions to the News-Argus, which is located at 310 N. Berkeley Blvd. Or checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 10629, Goldsboro, NC, 27532 and should be made payable to the Empty Stocking Fund. To make the contribution in honor or in memory of someone, write the designation on the check's memo line.

So as you go about your Christmas preparations, don't forget those children in need and make a contribution to the Empty Stocking Fund. You will find your own holiday a little brighter if you do.