Here’s your chance to Shine Your Light

Published 8:07 pm Saturday, December 21, 2013

By Staff Reports

 

East Texans continue to display their generosity with the annual year-end Shine Your Light campaign, and the Tyler Paper is privileged to be a part of it again.

The campaign will last through Dec. 31. Donations can be made online or by mail.

This year, the proceeds will be split between the Salvation Army of Tyler, the East Texas Food Bank, People Attempting to Help (PATH), First Tee of Greater Tyler, the Literacy Council of Tyler, and Boys & Girls Club of East Texas.

Since its inception in 2008, during what seemed to be the darkest days of the economic meltdown, Shine Your Light has raised more than $820,000 to meet the most pressing needs in the community.

“This year’s theme is ‘Investing in the future.’ … This is not the newspaper’s deal, this is the community’s deal,” notes Tyler Morning Telegraph Publisher Nelson Clyde.



Shine Your Light has become a part of the community’s holiday traditions. As in past years, the Tyler Paper has been highlighting each charity in the days leading up to the end of the year.

“People often say, ‘I decided to give again because of something in the stories,'” Clyde said.

A common thread in the stories — and in the missions of the agencies — is that they’re all “front-line” agencies, which means they directly serve you, your family, and your neighbors.

For example, the Salvation Army offers not only shelter, but a youth afterschool program, a school of music, a free drug and alcohol recovery program, free daily meals, a Family Store, social services, food pantry, medical and prescription assistance when funds are available, utility and rent assistance and travel assistance. The Army also offers independent senior living.

Mayor Barbara Bass says the campaign comes at a crucial time for charities, which often find their coffers nearly empty at the end of the year — just before some tough winter months.

“Many of our nonprofits end their year with depleted resources due to the extra push to help our neediest families during the Christmas holidays and can barely scrape together the funds during the cold winter months to continue serving those in need,” she says.

She adds that its generosity is one of the things she loves about Tyler.

“Being a strong faith-based community means we take care of our own,” she says. “It is our faith in action. In fact, I have found that helping each other is the common thread that connects people of all faiths and especially those of us living in the Tyler and East Texas area.”

This year’s matching donors are giving a total of $75,000. The donors are the Niblack Charitable Fund, Terry and Dennis Darryl, Mayor Barbara and Billy Bass, Herb and Melvina Buie, Harold and Rosemary Beaird, Citizen’s 1st Bank, Southside Bank, the Clements Family Foundation, the Tyler Morning Telegraph and an anonymous donor.

To donate to Shine Your Light, visit www.tylerpa per.com, or ETCF.org, or mail your check payable to Shine Your Light c/o East Texas Communities Foundation, 315 N. Broadway Ave., Tyler, TX, 75702.