ELIZABETHTOWN —A last-minute flurry of gifts made their way to the Bladen Journal for the newspaper’s Empty Stocking Fund, giving the coffers an 11th-hour boost.
Six gifts totaling $2,160 were delivered just ahead of Monday’s deadline and put the unofficial tally at $7,578.
Among the gifts to come in was the annual $1,500 check from Trinity Methodist Men’s Club — along with the following:
— $100 from the Bladen County Master Gardener Volunteers.
— $100 from the Bladen Amateur Radio Society.
— $50 from Paul and Elizabeth Albritton of Wilmington.
— $360 from Christ Followers at Clarkton First Baptist Church.
— $50 from Kenneth and Gwen Thompson.
“We managed to get halfway to our overall goal and, quite honestly, I think that’s pretty good considering all that Bladen County has been through over the past couple of months,” said W. Curt Vincent, general manager/editor of the Bladen Journal. “We’ll still be able to give quite a few children a nice Christmas.”
This year, the Empty Stocking Fund will assist more than 150 children for Christmas with gift cards from Leinwand’s and/or Walmart. All recipients will be called this week and those gifts will be handed out on Monday at the Bladen Journal between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
“That’s the very best part of the Empty Stocking effort — handing out those gift cards,” Vincent said. “It can get a little hectic, but the staff here really enjoys seeing and feeling the joy.”
Just because the deadline for contributions to the Empty Stocking Fund has come and gone, it doesn’t mean donations can’t still be made.
Contributions can still be sent or brought in:
— A check or cash can be delivered to the Bladen Journal office at 138 W. Broad St. in Elizabethtown during regular business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
— A check made out to Bladen Journal Empty Stocking Fund can be mailed to the Bladen Journal, P.O. Box 70, Elizabethtown, N.C. 28337.
— A Bladen Journal staff member can come by and pick up any contribution you may have during regular business hours.
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