Friday, November 27, 1998

An ideal day to save pennies for Goodfellows

Many Abilenians and Big Country residents will be hard at work today to get over our Thanksgiving "stuffing" by heading out for a full schedule of Christmas shopping today.

The Friday after Thanksgiving continues to be the nation's heaviest single shopping day of the entire year - which also means it's an excellent day to stock up on pennies for Goodfellows.

Although many shoppers will be paying with checks or credit cards, there will still be plenty of cash exchanged as we go around accumulating Christmas gifts for family members and friends on our list. And if today's Abilene shoppers took that pocket change they received and gave it to the Goodfellows, there would be many more youngsters who would have a happier Christmas this year.

A thousand or so hard-pressed families are asking for the generosity of the community in helping their children obtain clothes and food and toys, and it doesn't take more than pocket change to realize their dreams by coming to the assistance of the Goodfellows.

In fact, if each Abilene resident gave only 10 pennies, that would be more than a million of them - more than $10,000. That alone would be a fifth of the Goodfellows campaign goal. If everyone gave a mere 50 cents, that would fund the entire total the Goodfellows seek.

You're not likely to miss a few pennies - or nickels, dimes or quarters - but you might be surprised how quickly those coins can add up to a merry Christmas for needy children and families. One of the best things about the Goodfellows campaign is that it allows everyone in the community to participate in making Christmas a happy time for those who are down on their luck.

So go through those purses and pockets at the end of today's shopping expedition and see if you can't find some loose change to leave in the Pennies for Goodfellows jars in stores all over town. Goodfellows has the right use for it.

Or if you'd rather just send a check, mail it to Goodfellows, P.O. Box 30, Abilene, TX 79604.