DELPHOS — Marie Honigford loved the holidays. She was a good, loving person who loved children, too, according to her obituary.
It shouldn’t be a big surprise, then, that the Empty Stocking Fund was a cause near and dear to her heart. When the Delphos woman passed away Dec. 3, 2014, she left $12,146.89 to the program, which helps provide gifts for children whose Christmas trees might be without presents otherwise.
“Obviously there was something about it that Marie liked,” said Stephen Mansfield, her attorney in Delphos, who helped fulfill Honigford’s wishes and make the donation to the fund this week. “She felt the need to help it.”
It marks the largest single donation from an individual in the program’s history and offers a reminder that people can set the fund up as a beneficiary when they die.
The large donation brings the fund to $22,866.04 since the beginning of November, or 65 percent of its way to a goal of raising $35,000 this year with 13 days left before Christmas. The program’s participants include Bradfield Community Center, The Lima News, Mizpah Community Center and the Salvation Army.
“I’m very surprised and very, very grateful,” said Pamela Stricker, publisher of The Lima News. “It really helped us get a head start this year on being able to hand out some of the funding in time for it to be used for this year’s Christmas events.”
This season already saw several large donations, including $1,000 from Ronald Ellis and $500 each from the Sand Trap Foundation and the Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary. Whatever the size of the donation, it truly helps the program’s recipients, families that could face a disappointing Christmas morning.
“We really are grateful for the more than $20,000 that has been raised so far through the generous support of our community,” Stricker said.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
