How disaster spurred birth of Merry Christmas Fund
CHESTER » After a strong opening to the Merry Christmas Fund for 2017, the Times has no new donations to report from the Salvation Army Chester Corps for its second update. However, many Delaware Countians joined their fellow Americans and others around the world for Giving Tuesday, an initiative started in 2012 to balance Black Friday and Cyber Monday with a day of charity.
Tuesday’s charitable efforts come on the heels of many 2017 fundraising efforts in the county to help natural disaster victims in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. It was Chester’s own disastrous flood of September 1971 that played a role in the creation of the Merry Christmas Fund by the Salvation Army and Delaware County Daily Times.
From the Times editorial on Dec. 28, 1971:
“This year had the makings of a bleak holiday season for many. High unemployment plus the September flood resulted in more people in need than usual. And reduced United Community Fund allocations threatened to force the Salvation Army to spread its help thinner.
“But no one had anticipated the outputting of cash gifts to the Daily Times fund from the many individuals concerned about the less fortunate.
“Many remain in desperate need. But their Christmas was made happier by the generosity of their neighbors. It was an encouraging way to board end a year.”
As social media and “hashtag activism” has driven Giving Tuesday in the 2010s, Chester and Delaware County were not averse to using the latest technology to promote charity during World War II.
In 1941, before U.S. entry into the war, Chester made arrangements with the BBC’s “London Calling” program to exchange greetings with its namesake of Chester, England, by shortwave radio broadcast. Arrangements were made for the Chesterites of Pennsylvania to send supplies to the residents of their English sister city, who – also being an industrial hub – were under constant threat of German bombings.
Like the Internet has done today, the broadcast gave then Chester, Pa., resident Margaret Dykes a chance to hear from her former hometown, as she had moved from one Chester to another at the turn of the century.
The Times hopes to continue to connect people in need with those willing to help through the 2017 Merry Christmas Fund. It will provide daily updates showing the amount of donations received and list the names of contributors to the fund. Those who wish to be recognized should include a very brief, legible holiday message with their donations.
Donations can be sent in the form of checks or money orders to: Salvation Army, P.O. Box 1032, Brookhaven, PA 19015. Please do not mail donations to the Daily Times.