Seinfeld fans can readily recall the Festivus episode in which, among other things, George decided that instead of giving coworkers a costly wrapped Christmas present for the mandatory office holiday exchange, he would gift them with a contribution card to a charitable cause.  It was to a charity that he invented and called The Human Fund.  Its tagline read: “Money for People.”  As it turned out, he was the people; he got busted after his boss made a $20,000 end-of-year donation on behalf of their company and the accounting department discovered that the fund didn’t exist.

Charitable giving is based on trust.  George’s lack of integrity, though one step above his father’s airing of grievances and conducting feats of strength to assure dominance in his household according to Festivus tradition, nullifies him within the world of charitable giving.  During this year that will soon meld into the past, some of my friends established The Angel Fund, with higher aspirations than The Human Fund because its purpose is to provide money for people in need.  Realizing that big-hearted donors trust that their money will be guarded and distributed in good faith, I want to offer accounts of some of the people your contributions helped this holiday season:

• Four children (three in elementary, one in high school) of the northland whose single mother has not had a job in several years and whose grandmother, who was the primary provider, was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident this year: we dispensed food, gifts, clothing, and tuition assistance
• A single dad of four (ages two to ten) in a rural area who works long hours for little pay in the city and relies on the oldest child to care for the younger ones: he was tearful when he received money for a Christmas dinner and gifts for the children
• A single mom of two preschoolers whose husband died when the younger was an infant: while working full-time and attending the police academy, she received money from us to help pay outstanding bills for rent and utilities
• Inner city parents of five, though one died and left a baby for them to raise: dedicated to Catholic education, they are overjoyed that we will match tuition payments with them during the year ahead
• A twenty-one-year-old pregnant girl who cares for younger siblings after their father committed suicide, their mother is drug-addicted and unable to function: the girl had to quit school and cleans houses to support the other kids.  With her baby due next month, she is very grateful for your help
• An aging mother, whose husband left after two of their four children were born with severe physical handicaps: one of the two healthy children died in a freak camping accident years ago, another child died just before Christmas.  With high medical bills and funeral costs, our gift was greeted with deep emotion
• An immigrant family of nine in Northeast KC that struggles to make ends meet: we were able to help with roof repairs, school costs, and transportation

These are some of the humans helped by the angel fund in this sacred time of new life and deep hope.  We are immensely blessed to get to support them and many others in ways that offer incentive; through your generosity, they know they’re not alone, that others are cheering for them, praying for them, and assisting them as they seek to provide basic needs to family members, especially little ones, who rely on them.

On a related note, I want to thank all of you that donated to our inner-city parishes’ Christmas basket programs and those who volunteer at the Saint Therese Little Flower Senior Center.  The elders there invite you to swing by on New Year’s Eve for a holiday toast.  Instead of a midnight cheer, they host a “midnoon cheer” at 12:00 on December 31.  If not busy at midday, get a jump on the celebration by stopping in to lift a cup of kindness and ring in the new year.