Thursday letters: Thanks for helping Midlands families

Nearly 3,000 Midlands families were assisted over the holidays with food, clothing and Christmas gifts through Families Helping Families. It was an extraordinary undertaking made possible by an army of tireless volunteers, generous donors, community organizations and individual sponsors.

Thanks to all for your efforts, both large and small.

Little of this would be possible each year without the commitment of the management and staff of WIS-TV. The same is true of Nell Killoy, the program’s dedicated organizer for 18 of the past 25 years, along with her many volunteer managers and assisting elves whose programming and warehouse operations surely rival those of the North Pole.

Each year we receive many moving letters of thanks from those families who received help. Without question, the most poignant message in those letters is “we didn’t know anyone cared about us.” Many of them have endured tremendous hardships that include overwhelming medical bills, hunger, homelessness, joblessness and the death of the family’s breadwinner.

Thank you to all of them as well for the opportunity to remember that in this community, everyone matters.

S. Anne Walker

Steve Skardon Jr.

Palmetto Project

Columbia

This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Thursday letters: Thanks for helping Midlands families."