Giving hope to the hopeless just got easier

In 1984, local banker Clay Larson had been particularly moved by a series of stories he read in The Herald about Danny Holley, a local 13-year-old who died by suicide after telling others he felt he was too much of a burden on his financially strapped family.

In talking with the community, Larson learned he wasn't the only one who wanted to help keep this type of thing from ever happening again. And so Operation Christmas Cheer was born.

For 38 years we've been telling the stories of individuals and families in need during the holidays and how services of the Salvation Army have helped them. For years, you've mailed in checks and filled in coupons with holiday messages we've published. And you've donated nearly $2.6 million that 1st Capital Bank has tracked and forwarded to the Salvation Army to use to help finance their services, from providing holiday meals to giving children presents.

But I wanted to let you know that things have changed over the years. While we've been able to make it easier for you to donate, it's become more difficult to tell the stories of those who need your donations. Technology has been a blessing and curse … even for Operation Christmas Cheer.

This year, we're using technology to make it easier for you to give. By visiting https:// www.1stcapital.bank/, you'll be directed to the 1st Capital Bank website where you'll see the link to make a donation and deliver a message to be published in The Herald. But, if that is too big a challenge, you'll still have the option to fill in the coupon from the paper, clip it and mail it with a check to the bank. And we'll still be publishing your holiday messages both online and

in print as we have since Operation Christmas Cheer began in 1985.

Unfortunately, while technology has made it easier to donate, it has made it more difficult to tell the stories of some of those who benefit from your donations.

In my first years overseeing the project for The Herald, starting in 2008, the Salvation Army had no problem lining up clients to step forward to share their stories. But

slowly, in the age of the internet, things began to change. People were discovering that stories remain forever searchable on the web. Once a month or so for the past few years I've received requests from readers asking that I take down, for example, the police log listing their arrest for suspicion of a DUI. “I have court records that I was cleared of those charges,” they'll plead, “but you didn't bother to print those. Now I go for a job interview and the arrest is the first thing that pops up when they search for my name” (and yes, if we

do discover those we do take them down).

Also, survivors of domestic violence prefer not to have their names or identifying information in the public domain for safety reasons. Some were hesitant that if they spoke of their blessings someone else might try to bully them out of it.

Unfortunately for our readers, that means we can no longer share the direct stories of those who your donations help. Instead, we go through what Salvation Army caseworkers recall about cases in an effort to protect their clients' identities, safety and well-being. It's hard to argue with that.

In the final weeks of

this year, we'll be sharing some of those brief stories to show how your donations have helped others in the community.

We hope they inspire you, much like the story of Danny Holley inspired Larson to do something to help.

In 1985, The Herald, under Editor Tom Walton, kicked off the first Operation Christmas Cheer campaign with a fullpage ad under a headline that said: “Hope is the most precious gift you can give them this Christmas.” It is still our message today.