There is nothing I need to add to this forwarded e-mail. Charity does come from the heart not a forced action.
Not being a prophet I have no clue what gnarly fate awaits our country/culture on economic, diplomatic or political fronts, but the three accounts below certainly offer hope for the resurgence of America's conscience. Please note that NONE of these outstanding acts of charity required the forced redistribution of income or property, congressional action or any other type of public sector interference. Compassion, as demonstrated herein, comes from the HEART. It does not and *cannot* come from the government. Charity MUST be given freely or it is meaningless. To those inclined to accept such a greeting in the manner in which it is offered, merry Christ's Mass to all of you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Source: http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1666503774/-Santa-Claus-donates-100-000-to-Joplin-Salvation-Army December 14, 2010 ‘Santa Claus’ donates $100,000 to Joplin Salvation Army By Emily Younker n...@joplinglobe.com The Joplin Globe Tue Dec 14, 2010, 07:47 PM CST JOPLIN, Mo. — The Joplin Salvation Army has once again gotten an early Christmas gift from “Santa Claus.” Five checks totaling $100,000 were dropped into the Salvation Army’s red kettle at Walgreens, 20th and Main streets, sometime between 5 and 9 p.m. Monday, Capt. Jason Poff said. “They were folded and hidden within dollar bills,” he said. “Really, it feels surprising, shocking, amazing all at the same time when you open up a bucket and $20,000 checks start falling out.” This is at least the fifth consecutive year in which the local organization has received a substantial anonymous donation, in the form of Commerce Bank cashier’s checks with the remitter identified as “Santa Claus.” Over the past five Christmas seasons, the local Salvation Army has reaped $350,000 in checks from the anonymous Santa. The checks put the group about $20,000 away from this year’s Red Kettle Campaign goal of $230,000, Poff said. Poff said he would like to thank both the donor as well as the daily Secret Santas who contribute their spare change to the red kettles. “Obviously the amount of trust they put in us with that kind of gift is overwhelming,” he said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Source: http://www.newschannel9.com/news/santa-996807-secret-tennessee.html Secret Santa Drops Thousands in Salvation Army Kettle December 08, 2010 12:15 PM Kevin Sims Somewhere out there, a secret Santa just saved Christmas for a lot of Tennessee Valley families. And they did it with the biggest gift ever to a Salvation Army red kettle in our area. Most of us are familiar with the ringing bells outside of stores this time of year. And many of us even drop in our spare coins. But Tuesday night, somebody threw down a few bills instead. "I just kept screaming and digging in and looking for more," says Salvation Army donations coordinator Jennifer Fisher. Every morning, Fisher helps count the kettles from the day before. But nothing prepared her for the seemingly never-ending stack of Benjamin's. Co-workers even grabbed their cameras and caught the moment. In the end, 55 fresh $100 bills. That's $5,500! "I was just sorting through and kept finding different little piles of hundreds!" laughs Fisher. Salvation Army spokesperson Kimberly George says the money came from a kettle at the K-Mart in Fort Oglethorpe. "We get excited over 20's and 50's," George says, "so you can imagine the excitement." That K-Mart is the same store where another huge donation was found last Christmas. While they know the donor is a man, they don't know much else. "We just want to say a big 'thank you,' says George. "We hope that this secret santa is out there watching because it brings us such joy and certainly will bring joy to those folks that we're helping. That money will certainly go a long way. Client need is up 30% this season. And recent cold weather means more people are spending the night. They are people that secret santa will likely never know. "I think they're just wanting to help and they don't need the credit," says Fisher. "They just want to make Christmas a better time for other people this year." And while finds like this are fun, Fisher knows it doesn't take $5,500 to make change. "Any amount will make a difference this season," she says. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Source: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2010/12/16/anonymous-donor-gives-40k-to-local-food-bank/ Anonymous Donor Gives $40K To Local Food Bank December 16, 2010 10:12 PM Print Share 96 food bank, receives, 40,000, check anonymous donor (credit: CBS) Lindsey Seavert Reporting Lindsey Seavert NEW HOPE, Minn. (WCCO) — Christmas came early for a Twin Cities food bank struggling to keep up with the growing number of hungry families this holiday season. The Emergency Foodshelf Network in New Hope stocks and serves more than 230 food pantries in Minnesota. “We are running leaner than we have probably run in years,” said Executive Director Lori Kratchmer, who says this year donations are down at least 20 percent. “Across all suburbs around the metro area so, it’s really broad, the need, and it continues to be greater and greater.” But Wednesday, a Christmas miracle arrived in a plain white envelope. Up front, administrative assistant Carol Deters opens up the mail. She just had a hunch. “I said, I just love these mysterious envelopes because you never know what little goody you are going to find on the inside. And we opened it up and it was a check for $40,000,” Deters said. Deters says $40,000 can purchase 37,600 meals. “I was just so excited and we were running around and yelling, needed it,” she said. There was no note, and when the staff tried to call the person whose name was on the check, the number was unlisted. The donor wanted to remain anonymous. “I think I’d be lying if I said we weren’t jumping up and high fiving after receiving such a generous gift like that,” said Kratchmer. “So we put our faith in the community and they really come through for us.” A new report out this week shows many Minnesotans are still struggling this holiday season. Hunger Solutions Minnesota says currently the number of people visiting emergency food shelves is up 62 percent since the economy crashed in 2008. That’s 1-in-5 families going hungry over the holidays and all year long. In September of 2010, Minnesota had 454,513 people enrolled in food support programs, which is a 66-percent increase since September of 2008. The Emergency Foodshelf Network staff says like many food banks and food pantries all across Minnesota, they still need donations. They can buy more food with cash donations, but also accept donations from food drives. 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