Matthew Schiller knows all too well the kind of difference Bright Christmas makes in people’s lives. Having worked as The Tablet’s business manager from 1973 to 1993, he was directly involved with the campaign and learned firsthand how the funds raised would help put a toy in a child’s hands and a smile on their face.
Even after leaving The Tablet he never stopped giving to the fund. Following his tenure at the paper he worked for the Archdiocese of Newark and then took on the role of business manager with Catholic New York before retiring a few months ago and moving to Norwalk, Connecticut.
Schiller still keeps in touch with friends from his years at The Tablet and remains a loyal subscriber to the paper. He was born in Jersey City and grew up on Long Island. As a young boy, he remembers selling The Tablet at church on Sundays.
“After Mass would end, I would have to run down the side aisle, grab the papers, and get out on the steps to sell them to the people,” he recalls. “So I came to intimately know The Tablet and read it every week from cover to cover.”
Schiller attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood and earned a business degree from St. John’s University with a minor in nonprofit management. He recalled sending out resumes following his graduation and then receiving a call from The Tablet in June, 1973 — on his birthday — asking if he would be interested in working for a Catholic newspaper.
He was interviewed and offered the position of business manager, and also served as associate publisher of the paper for a few years.
Among the highlights of his tenure was helping bring the first computers into the newsroom at The Tablet, digitizing the archaic steel-plate printing system, and becoming more and more involved with all aspects of Catholic journalism. “Catholic media has been great to me and given me a great life,” said Schiller.
Schiller was in charge of the business side of the paper while former editor — and current editor emeritus — Ed Wilkinson handled editorial. Schiller’s job involved handling payroll, benefits, billing, paying the printer, and selling advertising space.
While there are countless charities worthy of donations this time of year, for Schiller, Bright Christmas stands out.
“There are a couple of charities that I really believe in,” he said. “But Bright Christmas is probably the biggest one. It’s because I know it’s in good hands.”
The Bright Christmas fund was started in the 1960s by Don Zirkel, then editor of The Tablet, who saw the financial struggles many families faced trying to make the holidays happy. In the early 1980s, Wilkinson took the reins and helped the Bright Christmas fund continue to grow. And the tradition continues today, over 60 years later.
Schiller helmed the business end of the Bright Christmas campaign. “With Matt in charge of Bright Christmas I always knew that we were in good hands and that the money was going to the right place,” said Wilkinson. “He oversaw the mailing and was always very conscientious and diligent in all that he did and he could always be trusted.”
Wilkinson recalled that a small group, just five people, worked on the campaign at the time. “We all had to really pull our weight and Matt always did a great job taking care of getting it out there and collecting the money.
“Matt was meticulous in all that he did and beyond reproach. He’s just an all around great guy, well respected, and everybody loved him. We were just lucky to have him,” he added.
Schiller admits that due to his friendship with Wilkinson he began volunteering at a youth center at Epiphany Parish in Williamsburg. Through this volunteer work he met groups of kids and families that were benefiting from Bright Christmas.
He saw the difference the funds made for those families, allowing them to buy Christmas presents and help put food on the table at the holidays. “So, I truly saw the impact of it and it really resonated with our readers. They loved the idea that they were doing something that was close to home,” said Schiller.
And he remains grateful for the role The Tablet had in bringing the message to its readers. “They would do these Bright Christmas stories, and those generated all kinds of interest,” Schiller said.
“People donated money, quilted blankets, and clothes. They wanted to take care of the people in Brooklyn and Queens and it’s great that they were responding to The Tablet. They were reading those stories, and they were understanding, and they were moved to action.”
Schiller recalled how the campaign grew over the years, remembering that in the 1980s The Tablet was able to raise from $15,000 to $25,000 a year, but through expanding the base and having more mailings they ultimately started to bring in more funds and thanks to the work of people like Schiller, last year Bright Christmas brought in $120,000
And while Schiller has recently moved away from his old stomping grounds to be closer to his family, he still looks forward to receiving The Tablet each week, and he has been a Bright Christmas donor for over 30 years.
If you want to donate to Bright Christmas, just head to TheTablet.Org.