PROSPECT HEIGHTS — The Tablet’s time-honored tradition of raising money to help those in need and ensuring every child has a gift to open on Christmas morning officially began on Nov. 22 with the launch of the 2024 Bright Christmas campaign.
The history of the holiday fund goes back decades. In the 1960s, Don Zirkel, then editor of The Tablet, saw the financial struggles many families faced trying to make the holidays happy — and the fund was born. In 1985,
Zirkel passed the Bright Christmas baton to Ed Wilkinson (The Tablet’s Editor Emeritus), who carried the torch for 35 years. While it would be thrilling to report the need has diminished, it has not. Families continue to struggle to make ends meet.
The rising cost of essentials like housing, food, and energy, as well as the skyrocketing expenses of health insurance, are some of the biggest challenges families face. Overall, the cost of living is higher now than last year, according to government statistics.
For seven decades, readers have opened their hearts and wallets to meet these needs. Some send in a few dollars, while others make much larger contributions.
Last year, The Tablet heard from many parishes and ministries that were grateful for the support they received from the fund to help run their Christmas programs.
Among last year’s recipients was the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace in Coney Island, which aimed to provide toys for underprivileged children during their annual Christmas celebration. According to the parish’s religious education coordinator, Maria Garces, Bright Christmas was a blessing for the children there.
“It’s all about putting a smile on a child’s face,” said Garces, explaining they want to make a difference and have children “feel it in their hearts through our teaching and our love.”
Thanks to the Bright Christmas funds, the school held a surprise celebration last year for students after Sunday school class, handing out toys and goodie bags. Others receiving Bright Christmas funds included St. Michael-St. Malachy Parish, East New York; Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Jamaica; and The Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish-St. Teresa of Avila, Prospect Heights, where Father Christopher Heanue noted the money was used to buy gifts for children in the parish, to
celebrate the Three Kings Day feast, and to help aid families struggling financially.
Father Victor Bolaños, pastor of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, used the Bright Christmas funds for a live Nativity scene, including two camels and a celebration, complete with toys. “It’s always such a great help,” he said. “We just try to do as much as we can for the little ones.”
Donations also went to soup kitchens and family shelters. Thomas Neve, founder and executive director of Reaching-Out Community Services, described it as “the most wonderful time of the year for more than 600 children who received toys and met with Santa thanks to the generosity of The Tablet readers.”
St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelters used its money to help keep grocery bags full, their soup kitchen open, and provide clothing and toys for over 10,000 families in need throughout New York City.
Ellen Edelman, executive director of Families, Fathers & Children, an organization that helps families affected by incarceration, credited volunteers and Bright Christmas for helping make the holiday happen for the children and their families. “We are extremely grateful to the many people who contribute to Bright Christmas because it makes a world of difference,” she said.
Sister Annelle Fitzpatrick, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, said they were grateful for the money they received, which helped refugee children from Ukraine and Afghanistan have a joyous Christmas.
Matthew Schiller, The Tablet’s former business manager, knows all too well the difference Bright Christmas makes in people’s lives. He was directly involved with the campaign for over 20 years and learned firsthand how the funds raised help put smiles on children’s faces.
Despite moving out of the diocese and leaving The Tablet in 1993, Schiller remains a subscriber to the paper and a generous donor to the Bright Christmas campaign. While there are countless charities worthy of donations during the holiday season, for Schiller, Bright Christmas stands out.
“There are a couple of charities I really believe in,” he explained, “but Bright Christmas is probably the biggest one. It’s because I know it’s in good hands.”
Last year, the campaign raised nearly $100,000, and this year’s goal is to raise $110,000.
Please keep reading The Tablet to learn how the campaign is progressing and discover the wonderful things that happen throughout Brooklyn and Queens because of your generosity.
How to Help
If you’d like to donate, visit thetablet.org/brightchristmas.
Or, write a check made out to “The Tablet’s Bright Christmas” and mail it to:
The Tablet Bright
Christmas Fund
856 Pacific Street
Brooklyn, NY 11238
