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Year after year, in The Sun Chronicle readership area, the holidays are made a little brighter for countless families - thanks to the continued efforts of volunteers who give of themselves, and of their time.

Each year, The Sun Chronicle pays tribute to a few of those volunteers as a sample of the effort put forth by the many individuals in helping those in need.

Among the three major gift drives that take place in the area each year - Christmas Is For Kids, the Salvation Army and Westside Benevolent Circle - organizers have singled out the following volunteers for special recognition this year:

Christmas Is For Kids - Alan, Andrew Goldberg

Although a bit reluctant to single out members of her own family, Kelly Fox, president of the Greater Attleboro Area Council for Children, which oversees the Christmas Is For Kids gift drive, felt her husband, Alan Goldberg, and their son, Andrew Goldberg, were worthy of the recognition. The Sun Chronicle agreed.

"We've volunteered as a family for 17 years, since Andrew was in kindergarten, and it has just become a part of what we do all year," Fox said. "My husband coordinates the front desk at Christmas Is for Kids, so he is oftentimes the face all the donors see. This is so important, to have someone who can greet folks and be genuinely thankful for every donation that comes to us.

"As for my son, I often tell other parents that you know you've done a good job raising your children when they do something wonderful when you're not there to coach them to do it, and this is what Andrew has done in starting a Toys for Tots drive at Carnegie Mellon University."

Alan Goldberg - "I started volunteering when my son, Andrew, was 5 years old," Alan Goldberg said. "I came home from a business trip and he wanted to know if I brought him home a present. At that point my wife, Kelly Fox (CIFK head elf), and I thought that it was a good time for our son to begin to see that other families do not always have what we have. That is when we found CIFK.

"Volunteering for CIFK has changed my life. I really enjoy helping others, and making a difference in their lives," he said.

Among other aspects Goldberg says he finds important in volunteering for the drive, he says, it's the gift he gets himself after the drive has been completed.

"I tell everyone I know that when I wake up on Christmas morning, my first thoughts are knowing that all the families we helped are celebrating Christmas. It's the best present."

Andrew Goldberg - "Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year," Andrew Goldberg said. "The holiday season of giving, the snow, family; it's all things that I love and hold close to my heart. "At this point, I feel that December just isn't right until I've helped out with CIFK. Volunteering in this fashion is something that I've grown up with, and I need at all times.

This deep fondness for Christmas is what prompted Andrew to start the Toys for Tots drive at his college, from which he says he also derives a great deal of satisfaction, but he says he still can't wait to come home on school vacation to help out with the Christmas Is For Kids drive.

"Distribution Day, the long 10-hour day where we give out all of our trash bags full of toys, is one of my favorite days of the year," he said. "It's normally cold, and possibly snowing. My dad and I - along with a few of the other elves - work hard bringing bags in and out of the collection center to cars with parents. I can't even count the number of times people cry - parents and us. I've shed more than a few tears every year. Just thinking about it now makes me a little teary-eyed and puts a smile on my face knowing the good I'm doing." The Salvation Army - Dave, Frances Snedeker

Pastors Ruth and Warren Blais, who head up both the Bridges of Hope ministry and the local Salvation Army, depend on volunteers all year long, and particularly during the holiday season, when gifts are collected for children through an angel tree drive, and money is collected through a kettle drive to help those in need with such things as heating oil and other winter necessities.

This year, Ruth Blais tips her hat to David and Frances Snedeker for their dedicated effort year-round.

"Dave has been volunteering for us for about five years, Blais said. "He has been helping with the kettle drive, and has also helped with the angel tree drive. His wife joined him two years ago, and now they volunteer together.

In addition, Blais says that the Snedekers have gone from volunteering to being wonderful members of the congregation, and continuing with their service all year round.

"They are faithful, dedicated people who want to make a difference in the lives of the people in the Attleboro area," Ruth Blais said.

What's even more impressive about the efforts put forth by the Snedekers is that they are both in their mid-70s and have both had medical issues to deal with over the last couple of years.

Dave Snedeker - When he first started volunteering for the drive, he used to help pick up the kettles, but after he broke his leg last year, he started, with his wife, to eliminate the leg work and count the money from the kettles each day.

As for why he does it, he says, "God has been good to us. I have a comfortable home. We have enough to eat, we can buy our medicine, stuff like that, and I know there are tons of people in Attleboro that have nothing because I've heard a few of the stories. They come in, they've got no money for heat, electricity, no food, stuff like that, so I feel it's time we gave back. It gives you a sense of satisfaction."

Frances Snedeker - She says she was inspired by her husband to volunteer and also by the congregation.

"I got involved at Bridges of Hope going to Sunday services, and got very involved with the congregation there," she said, noting that when she saw that they needed people to help count money, she was more than happy to help out. "I just enjoy every minute of it," she said.

As for volunteering in general, she says, "I think it's very, very important. You give of yourself and you get a lot back in return."

Westside Benevolent Circle's Joyce Gerraughty

For more than 100 years, volunteers from the town of Mansfield have done their best to make sure that those in need are taken care of, which at this time of year means the children who will need presents on Christmas Day.

In recognition of those volunteers who help make it all happen, Carol Lucas, who served as the president of Westside for many years, and is still very active in overseeing the program, has singled out Joyce Gerraughty as one of the drive's most important longtime volunteers.

"She is very dedicated, and is one of the most cheerful and upbeat people I have ever known," Lucas said. "She has for a number of years, had her office of Jack Conway Realty in Mansfield as the place for people to call and adopt children and then to drop off gifts. She can often be seen buried in Christmas packages. She then shuttles the gifts to our workspace."

Not only does Gerraughty bring gifts to the drive's workspace, but she helps bag the gifts once there, and helps distributed them. In addition, she has served as Westside's bike chairwoman for several years, working with the Mansfield Rotary through its Toys for Tots drive to help supply bikes to local children.

"This is a time-consuming task and she does a wonderful job of coordinating it," Lucas said.

As if all that weren't enough, Gerraughty also began hosting a special night for the local Cub Scouts a couple of years ago at the Jack Conway office to thank them for the many donations they bring in for the gift drive each year.

Joyce Gerraughty - So, why does she do it all?

"When you see the parents, how grateful they are - how happy they are to be able to give their children a wonderful Christmas - that has been 'the-feel-good' for me," she said.

"I had been a single parent at one stage of my life, and had the help of my family, and some of these people do not have a good family support system, which I think is so critical. I am so grateful to have had that and was never in a position that some of the families are."

Janette Boulay can be reached by phone or fax at 508-222-0993 or via janette.boulay@gmail.com.