Roy Exum: The Fool-Proof Present

  • Tuesday, December 23, 2014
  • Roy Exum
Roy Exum
Roy Exum

For all practical purposes, today is the final day to buy a last-minute Christmas present. Face it, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and it is usually so hectic with last-minute arrangements that any serious buying will be almost futile after today. So in the spirit of the season, allow me to share the most fool-proof gift that one person can give to another.

This year I started getting Social Security, which tells you there is nothing I really need and nothing I want from my loved ones. Some years ago I drifted from material things to gifts that really matter and I have learned a slick trick that will delight anyone who gets such a present.

All you need to do is get a blank Christmas card and write on the inside of it a personal note to the recipient that you have made a donation to a children’s cause in their honor. Obviously tomorrow is the last day that mail can be sent but don’t worry … the official acknowledgment that Children’s Hospital or The Chambliss Center will mail after December 25 is only an after-thought. What counts is the card in your handwriting that will announce the gift on Christmas Day.

So help me this works and the best part is that not only does it honor the person who gets the card, the charity benefits just as well. It’s a win-win and, when you can achieve that without suffering gridlock at the shopping mall, it becomes one of the best gifts under the tree.

The amount of the donation doesn’t matter but the note does. Don’t dare write, “A gift in your name has been given to the Siskin Rehabilitation Hospital.” Instead, put some effort into the message: “Aunt Alice, when Uncle Jack was alive it was never lost on any of us that he was always helping others so this Christmas I have given a donation to Siskin Hospital in recognition for all they did for him and I have given it in your honor. Your loving nephew, Delbert.”

Here’s another trick that is fool-proof. Let’s suppose all the family gathers at your house and Uncle Bob brings you a fluffy sweater but you have nothing to give in return. Simply duck away from the crowd and hastily write on a Christmas card that you have given a donation in his name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Then quietly slip it to him, explaining you don’t want to make Aunt Peggy cry. It works like a champ.

The big thing is the follow-through. If you sign your name that you have made a donation and then fail to do so, you’ll cut your face at least 50 times in 2015 when you try to shave. Make sure that your note to the charity includes the recipient’s name and address, as well as your own, so they can send an acknowledgement. And most donations are tax deductible. C’mon, this has got to be on the ‘up’ and not only is it simple to do, it may just supply the Petri dish that isolates the germ that the pathologist will identify responds to a certain antibiotic that will heal a child!

Now that you can see how easily it works, there are many organizations that help children and families who are in need in our area. While I fear I may leave a worthy organization out, here are some of my favorite ways to help a child by giving a donation at Christmas:

BETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICES -- 400 South Germantown Road, Chattanooga, TN 37411

CHAMBLISS CENTER FOR CHILDREN – Attn: Donation Desk, 315 Gillespie Road, Chattanooga, TN 37411

CHATTANOOGA AUTISM CENTER – Donations Desk, 1400 McCallie Avenue, Suite 100, Chattanooga, TN 37404

CHATTANOOGA AREA CHURCHES – Attn: Pastor’s Discretionary Fund, Any church or synagogue of your choice. If you are unsure what denomination, then rest assured some child will benefit from your gift.

CHATTANOOGA AREA FOOD BANK – Donations, 2009 Curtain Pole Road, Chattanooga, TN 37406

CHATTANOOGA ROOM IN THE INN – Donations Director, P.O. Box 3564, (230 N. Highland Park Ave.), Chattanooga, TN 37404

CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTER, Donations Desk, 419 North Market Street, Chattanooga TN 37405

CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL – Donations Desk, 975 East Third Street, Chattanooga TN 37403

CRISIS RESPONSE SERVICES (for Families) – Donations, 420 West Bell Avenue, Chattanooga TN 37405

DEPT. OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES – (Tenn. State Government) Donations -- Hamilton County Region, 311 Martin Luther King Blvd., Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403-9948

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION – c/o Donor Relations, Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, 1270 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402

COMMUNITY KITCHEN – Donations, 727 East Eleventh Street, Chattanooga TN 37403.

CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION – c/o Tennessee Chapter, 4825 Trousdale Road, Suite 238, Nashville, TN 37220.

FAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA – Donations Desk, 1184 Baldwin Street, Chattanooga TN 37403

JUVENILE DIABETES – Donations, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), East Tenn. Chapter, 355 Trane Lane, Knoxville, TN 37919

MARCH OF DIMES – Donations, 518 Georgia Avenue, Suite B, Chattanooga, TN 37403

ORANGE GROVE CENTER – Donations, 615 Derby Street, Chattanooga TN 37404

PARTNERSHIP – Donations Desk, Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, 1800 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37404

RONALD McDONALD HOUSE – c/o Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga, 200 Central Avenue, Chattanooga TN 37402

SALVATION ARMY – Donations Desk, Chattanooga Area Command and Bureau of Prisons Sanction Center, 800-822 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga TN 37403

SHEPHERD’S ARMS – Donations, Post Office Box 16758, Chattanooga TN 37416.

ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL – c/o Development Office, ALSAC Charities, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105   

ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL (Chattanooga branch) – Donations, 910 Blackford Street, Chattanooga TN 37403 (located in Children’s Hospital to facilitate faster medical care)

SISKIN HOSPITAL FOR PHYSICAL REHABILITATION – c/o Director of Giving, One Siskin Drive, Chattanooga TN 37403

SISKIN 365 CLUB – Donations Desk, Siskin Children’s Institute, 1011 Carter Street, Chattanooga TN 37402 (Gifts can be made in multiples of $3.65 – because they help kids every day of the year – but any donation will be appreciated)

TIMES FREE PRESS NEEDIEST CASES – Donations Desk, 400 East 11th Street, Chattanooga TN 37403.

royexum@aol.com

 

 

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