Dean Poling
VALDOSTA — At a time when the Empty Stocking Fund helped nearly twice as many children as the previous year, the annual Christmas fund-raiser saw a sharp decrease in donations in 2009.
With a tally Tuesday of $18,267.50 for the 2009 Christmas season, the Empty Stocking Fund raised $5,366 less than last year, said Margie Blanton of Guardian Bank, which oversees the account.
“The economy really blew us out of the water this year,” Blanton said.
Donations were down as were the number of donors. In 2008, 227 donors raised more than $23,000 for the Empty Stocking Fund. This past Christmas, the fund attracted only 85 donors.
A few more donations may trickle into the fund during the next few days, Blanton said.
The economy also affected how many children needed the Empty Stocking Fund’s help. Approximately 1,800 area children benefited from the fund this past holiday season. That’s up nearly 800 children from 2008’s approximate number of 1,000 youngsters.
It was 2008’s $23,000-plus in donations that funded the Christmas toys for 2009’s increase in children.
It will be 2009’s lower amount that will pay for next Christmas’ toys.
For generations of Valdosta-Lowndes County residents, it has been the goal of the Empty Stocking Fund to ensure no local child awakes Christmas morning to an empty stocking or no toys under the tree.
The Valdosta Daily Times and the local Salvation Army have sponsored the Empty Stocking Fund for decades. Guardian Bank joined the fund several years ago.
