The day after Thanksgiving traditionally marks the beginning of the holiday shopping period, though many have already begun and others may have finished their shopping.

As you check your shopping list this year, please consider a donation to the Santa’s Helper Fund. You can be sure your gift will bring comfort and delight to an individual or family whose Christmas would be rather bleak without it. Our goal is to raise $50,000 for the Salvation Army, so we still have a long way to go. As of Thursday, we had raised a little more than 15 percent of our goal.

Many in our neighborhoods and communities are doing their best to get by and are working hard to improve their lots in life. This may be seen in some of the letters that come to the Salvation Army, such as the one that follows.

“The Salvation Army has been a blessing to my family time and again. We continue to struggle day by day to survive, with rent and all that goes along with it. We as a family continue to work hard to improve our lives but never seem to make a dent in our basic bills. Christmastime is especially difficult due to the fact that we don’t make enough money to put any aside for gifts for the kids.

“My children are deserving of something special because they live through our family struggles daily. My son is on the freshman football team and is in honors classes, pushing himself for scholarships to afford college. My daughter is on the student council and also excels in school, and the little one is oblivious to all our stresses I hope.

“I am grateful for such a blessed family and with a special Christmas maybe our blessings can be shared with family. Thank you and God bless you all.”

Donations may be sent to Santa’s Helper Fund, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329. Donors’ names and dollar amounts will be published in the Santa’s Helper column daily. Donors who prefer to remain anonymous will be listed as such, followed by their donation amounts. Thank you in advance for your generosity.