By Town Crier Staff Report

The Town Crier Holiday Fund was established last year to help needy residents across Santa Clara County. In its first year, the fund reached $60,000. This year, the fund begins with $41,000 in matching funds to encourage more people to contribute.

All promotional and administrative costs are covered by the Town Crier, so 100 percent of the donations reach the needy. The Community Foundation Silicon Valley is the fiscal partner with the Holiday Fund, making all contributions tax-deductible.

The Holiday Fund supports hands-on organizations where a “dollar makes a difference.” Three of the fund’s recipients include:

Truck of Love

“The funds the Town Crier Holiday Funds gave us last year helped us pay the bill for food and gifts for more than 300 families at Christmas and Thanksgiving,” said organizer Pete Fullerton. “We help between 35 and 40 local families each month with some kind of assistance. We also help a few homeless teen-agers who are becoming regular visitors to our door. Since January, we have seen the needs of families increase every way, and anything you might do for us would be very much appreciated.”

Onedia Branch (Mother Branch)

“Last year’s gifts helped greatly, and we bought food and more food. It’s worse now, with so many people laid off,” Branch said. “Three hundred and seventy-plus families are helped because of your love and concern. God bless all of you because it is worse this year than it has been for some time.”

Community Homeless Alliance Ministry

The ministry opens its doors to provide sleeping quarters for 40 families a month. The area’s housing market, skyrocketing rents and unemployment are pushing more working class families into the street. Families on disability and those making less than $2,000 a month need help. The ministry gives them breathing room to get back on their feet.

Other Santa Clara County organizations on this year’s Holiday Fund recipient list are: Career Closet, support for unemployed single moms; Help One Child, foster parent recruitment support; Bay Shore Christian Ministries, after-school tutoring; CSA Kids Dental Program; East Palo Alto Kids Foundation, families learning together; and Sunday Friends, help for children in the family shelters.

Checks can be made payable to the Town Crier Holiday Fund and mailed to the Los Altos Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022. All gifts are 100 percent tax deductible.