The Santa Fund raised $256,454 in 2024, which helped more than 1,800 schoolchildren get the winter coats, shoes, eyeglasses, medicines and other important items they needed last year.
This year’s campaign, with a goal of $260,000, aims to provide more help to more youngsters.
The Santa Fund, in its 131st year, unites The Daily Progress, the WINA radio station and the United Way of Greater Charlottesville to raise money to help provide children with clothing, school supplies and other necessities. The fund is today the nation’s oldest newspaper-run charity.
In a season filled with toy drives, the Santa Fund’s focus on year-round necessities also sets it apart. Toys are delightful and meaningful, but Santa Fund donations can purchase glasses to help children read school assignments more clearly and shoes to keep growing feet ready to run and play.
Teachers and other school personnel help identify children in Charlottesville and Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson and Orange counties who need clothing, glasses and other essentials. Parents then receive one-time vouchers to take to the fund’s participating retailers, which include Kid-to-Kid, Marshalls, Roses, Shoe Show and TJMaxx.
The students are able to shop for what they need in a stigma-free environment and get back to school warm, dry, equipped and ready to learn.
"I’m not aware of another program completely like the Santa Fund," Ravi Cooper, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Charlottesville, told The Daily Progress. "It’s essentials that children need year-round. It’s about dignity."
Teachers or guidance counselors at schools may notice that students’ feet can’t stay dry because their shoes have holes in them, or "they don’t have a coat, or that they’re wearing hand-me-downs two sizes too big for them," Cooper said. Sometimes, parents reach out to seek help.
Either way, "the child never knows," Cooper said.
Another popular feature of the Santa Fund is the lists of dedications from Santa Fund contributors that appear in The Daily Progress and are announced on the air on WINA. People make donations in honor of or in memory of loved ones, coworkers and friends, and many make contributions on behalf of their pets.
Each list includes a running total to show contributors how their help is bringing the season’s goal closer, and to encourage others to join the effort. Since The Daily Progress first teamed up with the United Way and WINA, the fund has raised $4 million. As the year draws to a close, fans keep an eye on the Santa Fund totals, rooting for donations to surpass the goal.
"It’s one of my favorite programs, and I love being part of it," Cooper said.
Santa Fund contributionsMailing address for checks and dedications: Santa Fund for Schoolkids 200 Garrett St., Suite I Charlottesville, VA 22902 For online donations: thesantafund.org
The Daily Progress had been around only two years when James Lindsay, its founding publisher, established the Santa Fund in 1894.
"Its longevity is not only a testament to the newspaper and its community partners, but to the people of Virginia — from the Shenandoah Valley to the Eastern Shore, from the Washington suburbs to Southside," said Reynolds Hutchins, editor of The Daily Progress. "Whether they have given a little or a lot over the years, every single dollar has made a difference in the lives of our region’s smallest and neediest residents."
"That it has lasted this long is one thing; that it managed to break its record last year, when charitable giving was on the decline, is another thing entirely," Hutchins added. "It is a reminder of what is possible in a world and in a time in which we are constantly reminded of the limits of our good work. Which is why we have no intention of slowing down or holding back."
"This year, we are asking the people of Virginia to help us break another record, to help us bring some Christmas joy to those who might otherwise go without it. Every dollar counts. Every child counts. And we are counting on our community, on all Virginians, to help us reach our fundraising goal and help those who cannot help themselves."
To participate, mail a donation by check to the Santa Fund for Schoolkids, 200 Garrett St., Suite I, Charlottesville, VA 22902.
Online donations can be made at thesantafund.org.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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