Fundraising Stars

There’s always a fair amount of grumbling over the holiday season, and Holidays 2013 was no different:

• ● “It starts too soon.”
• ● “I’m offended because you say merry Christmas.’”
• ● “I’m offended that you don’t say merry Christmas.”
• ● “Did you hear about the fight that broke out over a $100 computer on Black Friday?”
• ● “It’s more about getting than giving. Whatever happened to the real spirit of the holidays?”

All valid reasons to walk around with your tinsel in a tangle as the year draws to a close and the focus is on the holidays. But the one thing you rarely hear people complaining about is the little glimmer of hope and love and humanity that shines through: secret Santas paying for shoppers’ entire orders at department stores; “giving trees” in church lobbies and in stores, banks and other retail establishments; families “adopting” other, less fortunate families to provide them with gifts they might not otherwise receive.