Lions keep Christmas magic bright
SANDPOINT — There’s a famous editorial written by Francis Pharcellus Church on Sept. 21, 1897, in response to a young letter writer.
Vir-ginia O’ Hanlon 8-year-old had been getting teased from her friends because she still be- lieved in Santa Claus. Her father advised her to write to the New York Sun because, “If you see it in the Sun, it’s so.” After pondering it for a short time, Church penned what has become the most reprinted editorial in history.
In his response, Church told the youngster that her friends were wrong, that they had been affected “by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except (what) they see.” He told her not to believe the septics and the naysayers, but to continue her belief.
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” he told her. “He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.”
Church concluded his editorial with, “No, Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.”
That magic of the season is precisely what the Lions Club keeps alive. Won’t you help them fulfill the dreams of the community’s “Virginias?”
Today, the Lions have received $2,161.20 in donations, bringing the total for this year to $28,029.34.
Today’s generous donations come from: Byron and Donna Steinacher, $15; Ronald and Laura Forsberg, $500; Sandpoint Gun Club (In Honor Of Harold and Martha Miller), $100; William and Nancy Miller (In Loving Memory Of Jennifer Anne Miller), $250; Mark and Leigh Anne Chorzempa; (In Memory Of Jim Lippi), $100; Barbara Botsch, $150; Ella Smith Vizena, $100; Arlo and Patricia Clayburn, $50; Norma Benda, $50; K.T. and C.E. Gors (In Memory Of Tina Gors Who Loved Children), $30; Anonymous, $56.20; Ace Septic Tank Service (Vern and Pam Caven), $100; Beta Sigma Phi –Xi-Eta Chapter, $160; and Tom and Judy Dabrowski (In Honor Of All Lions Past And Present Who Have Made Toys For Tots Such A Great Program), $500.
The goal for this year’s campaign is $50,000 — the same as it has been in past years. The Lions make the most of the money by shopping bargains, and with the assistance of generous local businesses.
The Toys for Tots program provides free new toys for children living in the Lake Pend Oreille School District, from Sandpoint to Clark Fork and all points in-between. A Christmas dinner for the family is also provided.
Those who need help this year can apply at the Lions Den, 607 S. Ella Ave., Sandpoint (west of Memorial Field next to the Bonner County Historical Museum.)
The Lions Den will be open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. through Monday, Dec. 19, so members can accept applications. Applications also are available at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare office.
If you have any questions about Toys for Tots sign-up, call Judy Dabrowski, 208-290-5314.
Donations for Toys for Tots can be dropped off at the front desk at the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Donations also can be mailed to the Sandpoint Lions Club, P.O. Box 414, Sandpoint, ID, 83864
You can also drop off donations at Columbia Bank’s main branch in Sandpoint, 414 Church St., or at the Ponderay branch, 300 Kootenai Cutoff Road.
Donations made by check are preferred. Be sure to include a note with your check indicating that it is a Toys for Tots donation. If you wish to make an anonymous donation, please include a note.
If the donation is being made in someone’s name, be sure to also include a note.
New, unwrapped toys can be dropped off at:
Sagle — Stacey’s Country Kitchen and Travel America Plaza-Conoco.
Sandpoint — Farmin-Stidwell Elementary, Eagles, Sandpoint Fire Department, Columbia Bank, and Wells Fargo.
Kootenai and Ponderay — Columbia Bank, Bradley Insurance, North 40 Outfitters, and Samuels Store and Blue Heron Cafe.
Hope — Holiday Shores.