Heed Dickens: Help Cheer Fund Purchase Holiday Food Baskets

OSSINING, NY — Maybe he knew his Dickens. Do you recognize this quote? "We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices."

That's what the two men raising money to buy food for people in need said to Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol."

Charles Dickens published the novella in 1843 and it was an instant international hit. He made a highly-publicized visit to New York in 1867 to give one of his public readings of the already-classic tale. Glendon Baker was 5 years old.

What we know is that when Baker was 48, a successful merchant and civic leader, he saw two local children picking through a garbage pile for food. After that, every year before Christmas, he bought food, clothing and toys, loaded them into paper bags, and got neighborhood kids to deliver them to needy families around the village.

When he died, the Christmas Cheer Committee wrote that of all Baker's civic activities, the Cheer Fund demonstrated the clearest concept of what "this big man’s ideals were…To do good, to lend a hand to every person who needed assistance, was his idea of the brotherhood of man. To know that at the Christmas season, when the whole world was full of the spirit of love and giving, that there was one person in this town without some part of this great festival, was to him a tragedy."

Last year, despite the coronavirus pandemic, more than 350 needy families in the Ossining area were aided through generous community efforts.

This year, the fund has begun to solicit donations for holiday food baskets. The money goes solely to purchase food, because the administration efforts are handled by volunteers and the baskets are packed and delivered by members of the Ossining Volunteer Fire Department and other community members.

Please consider being part of this 106-year tradition.

Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to the Baker-Collyer Cheer Fund, c/o John Crawford, Chairman, Post Office Box 508, Ossining, NY 10562, by calling 914-438-9843, or the website: www.thebakercollyerchristmascheerfund.com

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2021, about 42 million Americans may not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.