Call For Help, Inc.

Carlyn Brooks, Executive Director

Serving the Metro East Community

9400 Lebanon Rd.

East St. Louis, IL 62203

Phone: 618-397-0968

Toll Free: 800-397-8707

Fax: 618-397-6836

Angie Wilsing, Fund Developer

awilsing@callforhelpinc.org

To contact us:

Information & Referral Dec. 2007

December is the month for toy giving so underprivileged families can have something under the tree for their children on Christmas morning.  This is the season for locating the gifts so that there will be something for Call For Help to give away.

Unfortunately, there are those who think they are supposed to receive, not considering the work put in by various agencies go through in order to provide for them.  One client just simply said after receiving his gift package, “I’ll see you next year.”  Another client, after being taken off 12 other agencies’ lists, expressed that she felt she could have done better on her own.  These are the types who can bring out the Bah Humbug in you.

The good news is that those people are few are far between.  It takes only one tearfully grateful individual to turn that frown upside down.  These people are so happy while letting us know, “I was not expecting this much.”  There are even times when a donor who adopted one family from CFH’s list calls and says, “that felt so good, give me another family.”  These individuals not only erase the “Bah Humbug” feeling, they remind us why we are here and what Christmas is really all about.

Let’s not forget the volunteers who come in every year from their busy schedule to breakdown thousands of toys and package them for the hundreds of families CFH assist, or the donors who set out boxes for donations and donate the toys so we can issue them out, or the individual businesses or individual families who adopt one of our families in for them to have a wonderful Christmas.  Without them we could not succeed.

Call For Help’s I&R program gives all year round, not just at Christmas.  Just recently we received a thank you Christmas card for helping a client retain residence.  Another walked in seeking rental assistance and stated she had been hearing good things about Call For Help from church members and friends who had previously sought assistance.

The joy of giving, and the occasional thank you, sure keep us focused on our mission.

“’Tis the season for giving and receiving.”

Date: 12/31/07