Our Opinion: Thanks for giving, Mower County
Published 7:47 am Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Daily Herald editorial
As families are sitting down to Christmas dinners or to open presents, we hope no one forgets those who gave during the holiday season.
There’s been no shortage of goodwill toward others throughout Mower County. For starters, Hy-Vee and the Salvation Army gave away more than 600 meals Friday, so all area families can have a Christmas dinner. A meal may seem like a simple thing to most families, but those meals are sure to make many families’ holidays much brighter.
Lt. David Amick and Salvation Army officials across the state are surely thankful for an anonymous group of donors who created a fund of $2 million in matching funds. They agreed to match up to $25,000 in Austin and in every city with a Salvation Army station in Minnesota and North Dakota. Austinites donated $7,000 to kettles on Friday, and Amick was pretty sure the Austin Salvation Army made its goal of $60,000 for the first time in awhile.
The United Way is surely thankful for the many area donors to the annual campaign. Hormel Foods Corp. deserves thanks, as corporate and plant workers combined to raise more than $405,721 — almost half the United Way’s $1 million goal.
The Herald would like to salute these workers, businesses and organizations for their generosity during the holiday season, and we’d like to thank everyone else who surely donated during the holidays. Like the Salvation Army donors, many prefer to give anonymously.
If you haven’t given to the United Way, Salvation Army or other area groups, we urge you to get involved sometime during the year.