Brighter Christmas Fund kicks off

ANDERSON — Jennifer Gilreath and Tanisha Alexander received more than 400 applications in a week for the Brighter Christmas Fund in 2008.

That’s the same number they received on Monday, in one day, Gilreath said. She said they have also noticed more applications coming in from fathers.

“I bet one application for every five turned in is from a father. That has shocked us,” Gilreath said. “With unemployment benefits being cut off for people, I think it’s going to be an overwhelming year.”

Gilreath and Alexander work with the Department of Social Services in Anderson County. At this time every year, they take applications for the Brighter Christmas Fund, review them, and notify families who have been approved for help.

Application forms for the holiday charity will be available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. until the end of November.

The Anderson Independent Mail and the Foothills Community Foundation sponsor the Brighter Christmas Fund every year to give local families in need a joyous holiday. The fund began more than three decades ago.

Fundraising for this year’s Brighter Christmas Fund begins Nov. 15. Each day until Christmas, a family in need will be profiled in the Independent Mail, using fictitious names. And as donations are made, the list will be published along with the story.

With the help of local businesses and residents, children wake to find presents under Christmas trees for them, families are given meals and some are given what they need to warm their home for the season.

In 2008, residents donated close to $73,000.However, thattotal was close to a $50,000 decrease from the previous year because of an economic slump that hit the nation late in the year. Two anonymous donors made $25,000 contributions to the charity in 2007. Neither of those large donations were received in 2008.

Donations come in from individuals and from events such as the annual Jack Hurley Anderson Toy Parade, held by the Confederates Motorcycle Club, and the Stone Creek Cove Community’s golf tournament.

Gilreath and Alexander review applications, and then take them to a board made up of community members as well as staff of the Independent Mail and the Foothills Community Foundation. The board members decide how to allocate money to the applicants who have been approved for help.

The board members know how much money they have to spend on the basis of what was raised the previous year.

For example, the nearly $73,000 raised in 2008 will be used to help families this year. With the $122,007 raised in 2007, more than 400 families received help from the Brighter Christmas Fund in 2008.