Chip Minemyer: Gearing up to help Santa make more holidays happy

Chip Minemyer, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·4 min read

Oct. 16—"Santa Claus is coming to town ..."

Sing with me!

"Santa Claus is coming to town ..."

Too soon? No way.

The big guy's elves are already hard at work getting ready for the season — lining up a fun night of soccer for local high school players and raising money to provide gifts for area families.

It's not quite Halloween, and the smell of roasting turkey is still more than a month away, but it's Christmastime all the time.

And even as you're seeing lots of pink for our important annual mission of elevating breast cancer awareness — and saving lives — some red and green is showing up here and there as we publish advertisements encouraging readers to support The Tribune-Democrat's Santa Fund and to nominate families they know could use some help during the upcoming holidays.

Each year, The Tribune- Democrat partners with Boscov's department store, the Greater Johnstown School District and area service agencies to help make sure local children receive gifts — even if their families are facing financial hardship.

We've been doing this for 15 years, and the need has never been greater.

"It's even more now since we're still stuck in COVID-19 — it's going to be real tight," said Rosalyn Brandon, who works with the city school district and has volunteered with Santa Fund project since the beginning.

"People are just struggling and hurting," she said.

The Santa Fund has always been about embracing those folks who are in tough situations — right through a pandemic, and despite supply- chain challenges and other hurdles.

The fund thrives and makes a difference during the holidays because ours is a generous community that supports this and many other programs — with direct donations through the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, at cfaleghenies.org; with checks sent to our office at 425 Locust St., Johnstown; or by making contributions at the Santa Fund Soccer Classic.

This year's all-star soccer event — to showcase the top senior girls and boys from area high schools — is scheduled for the evening of Nov. 18 at Trojan Stadium in Johnstown.

Please come out and support the players and help the Santa Fund.

Brian Vuletich, formerly of the Greater Johnstown School District and WCRO radio, and Paul Buza, girls soccer coach at Windber High School, have been coordinating the nominations of players by coaches at schools across the region and developing the rosters for the games. Players and all-star coaches will be announced soon.

Monday is the deadline for coaches to nominate players — via email to santafundsoccer@tribdem.com. Many have already sent in their nominees.

The soccer classic has been going strong for more than a decade.

"It's a great event for local soccer players," Vuletich, a soccer official and an event organizer, said. "Over the 11 years, local seniors have looked at the Santa Fund Soccer Classic as one of the highlights of their careers."

And by playing in a soccer all-star showcase, they're helping others have a memorable Christmas — truly a holiday- themed win-win situation.

Forms for nominating families to participate in the Santa Fund program have been appearing in the pages of The Tribune-Democrat, are available to download at tribdem.com, and will be provided to agencies across the region.

Contact me if you or your group would like to volunteer sorting and distributing gifts.

There's always much to be done at the North Pole, you know.

So break out the lights and garland and put up that tree.

It's always Christmastime for the Santa Fund.

------Now that you're in the proper holiday spirit, let me tell you about a great project you'll want to check out.

The staff of Allegany Magazine and The Times-News — both of nearby Cumberland, Maryland — recently completed a book that is filled with great reads, holiday traditions and yummy recipes from 15 years of the magazine, which this year was named the best in our entire company, CNHI.

This book — "Magic and Memories: An Allegany Magazine Holiday Keepsake Treasury" — is a great read whether you live in Cumberland, grew up in Cumberland, or have never even been there.

You'll find many personal stories that are relatable anywhere — and as heart-warming as a cup of hot chocolate on a winter day.

Allegany Magazine Editor Shane Riggs pulled together the best stories, poems, photographs and other content from the past 15 Christmas editions.

Those who renew their subscriptions to the magazine for three years will receive the book as a gift. Or, you can purchase the book for $29.95 plus shipping and handling, and sales tax. You can call 301-722-4608 for more details.

Merry Christmas!

Chip Minemyer is the editor of The Tribune-Democrat and TribDem.com, and CNHI regional editor for Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina. He can be reached at 814-532-5091. Follow him on Twitter @MinemyerChip.