A better Christmas Is For Kids

The evolution of Christmas Is For Kids is very pleasing to see.

The campaign, which begins its 24th year today, was launched as a simple wish by a group of local citizens led by radio talk show host Dave Kane to make sure that every child in the Attleboro area had a gift to receive on Christmas morning.

From the beginning, the response has been overwhelming. The people of the Attleboro area opened their hearts to the campaign, sometimes swamping the organizers with several gifts for the hundreds of children who appear on the list. (This year's list is on pages D3-D5 of today's Sun Chronicle.)

But Christmas Is For Kids, like all good charitable programs, now also aims to stop the cycle of poverty and dependence by educating the families it assists. In recent years, the Greater Attleboro Council for Children, which runs the campaign, established new guidelines to help both recipients and donors.

Now, each new application is carefully screened, looking at both income and expenses to assure that a need exists.

In addition, those who participated in last year's drive were required to attend four out of 20 free workshops this year in order to be eligible. The classes, on such topics as budgeting, credit and parenting skills, are aimed at making families more self-sufficient.

After some initial resistance, the families are beginning to embrace the classes, Kelly Fox, president of the council for children, told The Sun Chronicle's Janette Sears.

"Overall, this has become a bit of a social event as well as a learning experience for the parents," she said. "We've had quite a lot who've come to more than the required four classes, some as many as 10 classes, because they see the value in what they're learning."

Just as importantly, the additional guidelines reassures donors that the council is trying to be good stewards of their donations.

As heartwarming as the initial campaigns were, it would be especially satisfying to know that the additional guidelines may also contribute to ending the cycle of poverty for some Attleboro area families.

That's why the evolution of the campaign, now approaching its silver anniversary, has made Christmas Is For Kids even better than when it first began.