WARREN - It's not too late to make a donation to help someone in need this holiday season, and there are at least a dozen ways to do so with the Tribune Chronicle's "Twelve Ways of Christmas" campaign.
The campaign, in its second year, is sponsored by the newspaper's Hope Chest Foundation.
The newspaper began Hope Chest in the wake of a 1981 economic recession. Last year, as the country was headed into what is being called the worst economic downturn since the 1930s, the foundation borrowed from the traditional Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" to offer people a dozen ways to fill a need in the community.
The campaign involves the Tribune Chronicle acting as a clearinghouse for charitable donations designated for 11 different charities or a cause chosen by the newspaper. The Hope Chest Foundation is a 501(c)3 registered charity and all donations are tax-deductible.
- One organization supported by the Hope Chest Foundation helps area high-schoolers fulfill their dream of attending college. The Mahoning Valley College Access Program was launched in December 2000 by the Raymond John Wean Foundation and makes possible free advising and resources on university admissions and financial aid, early awareness of college books for elementary students and ''gap'' scholarships to benefit students and parents in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
Money also has been used for books for elementary students, purchasing laptop computers and providing financial aid advisers to high-school students and their parents during the college-application process.
- Speaking of books, a second organization supported by the "Twelve Ways Of Christmas" campaign is First Book Trumbull County. First Book is a nationwide, nonprofit organization with a mission to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.
Since its founding 20 years ago, the organization has delivered more than 65 million books to children in the United States and Canada. The Trumbull County Chapter was founded in May 2005 and has delivered more than 15,000 free and low-cost books to children throughout the county.
- Area school children also are helped by donations of coats and shoes, which are coordinated by the newspaper through referrals by local school officials. Donations made to these categories of the "Twelve Ways of Christmas" campaign are used to buy coats, winter clothing, shoes and boots for children in need.
- Hope Chest donations designated to the Warren Lions Club help give children the gift of sight through the Recycle for Sight program. It allows people to donate unwanted or outdated eyeglasses, which are then refurbished and distributed to those in need in developing countries. Recycle for Sight is a program of the Lions Club International.
Locally, donations to the Hope Chest will be used to find children in need and send them to eye doctors. The children then will be referred to any of the retail outlets that prepare the eyeglasses, who will fit the children at a discount rate.
- Those in need of food can be helped by donations designated for family food baskets through local church food pantries or meal assistance through Mobile Meals of Trumbull County. Most of the local food pantries are reporting increases in requests because of the area's high unemployment rate, according to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, which distributes food to 152 hunger-relief organizations in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties.
In the first 10 months of 2009, Second Harvest member agencies reported a 35 percent increase in the number of people they served.
Mobile Meals of Trumbull County launched its Miles and Miles for Meals campaign last month and it will run through November 2010. The fund-raising goal is $84,000, which represents the miles driven last year by Mobile Meals volunteers, who deliver approximately 100,000 meals per year throughout Trumbull County.
Hope Chest donations designated for Mobile Meals will help the organization reach its fund-raising goal.
- Senior citizens will be helped through donations designated to area SCOPE centers or the Guardian Angels program of Trumbull County Probate Court. SCOPE centers are located in Champion, Cortland, Howland, Lordstown, Niles and Warren, and offer activities, meals, transportation services and other assistance to area seniors through the District 11 Area Agency on Aging.
The Guardian Angels program provides friendship to elderly residents and also trains volunteers to become advocates and legal guardians.
- Veterans can be helped by donations designated to local veteran organizations such as VFWs, American Legions and the Trumbull County Veterans Association.
- Victims of domestic violence will benefit from donations designated to Someplace Safe, the county's only domestic violence shelter.
- Residents affected by disasters such as flooding and fire will be assisted by donations designated to the Trumbull-Mercer County Chapter of the American Red Cross. The agency recently assisted a Bloomfield family who lost their home and all their belongings in a house fire.
- The final way to help those in need is by designating your donation for a charity of the newspaper's choice.
For more information on the Hope Chest Foundation campaign, call community events coordinator Sue Shafer at 330-841-1696.