Published in the December 29, 2016 edition

By BILL LaFORME

NORTH READING —North Reading’s Christian Community Service organization has been around for nearly four decades – four decades of helping local people in need, all by local people and donations. What an incredible community asset to have.

When you support the CCS, you are helping people at a time when they may need it most in life – maybe in some cases your friends and neighbors. This is an organization that helps keep people in their homes or from going hungry. Its volunteers see to it that children have presents at Christmas and that elderly and shut-ins have holiday meals and companionship.

By supporting this annual fundraising drive, you are making all of these things a reality. You’re doing even more than that. You’re taking a small step toward helping to heal this divided and hurting country by making it unmistakable to our neighbors that yes, we are there for them when things go wrong. We are still a community. We have not all been sucked into some digital void where simply clicking “like” or a frowny face is supposed to make everything all better.

We all have good deeds that are laid out before us in this world, waiting and hoping to be done. And the good deeds we can do are the ones we’re in closest proximity to – the ones we come across in our daily lives and presumably, in our home towns and cities. Supporting the CCS is an investment in your community. Every dollar goes straight to the people around you who have encountered great difficulties in one way or another. Every donation, no matter how small, is a generous act of compassion and mercy.

The CCS is a non–denominational, non–profit organization. All donations will be acknowledged in the Transcript. Donations may be mailed to the Transcript at P.O. Box 7, North Reading MA 01864. Donations are tax deductible and a tax receipt will be furnished to anyone who requests one. Receipts are automatically mailed for donations of $250 or more.

For those who prefer to drop off a check in person, donations may be left at the Reading Cooperative Bank, 170 Park St.

Checks should be made payable to the Christian Community Service or “CCS,” not the Transcript. Help make the 2016 Neighbor Helping Neighbor Fund the most successful ever.

Thank you to all of the people who sent in these latest donations over the past week:

Nancy and Peter Zawistowski…..$100
In honor of Bob Turosz…..$200
Donald and Doris Henchey…..$100
Given in loving memory of John E., Betty L. and John Michael Davis…..$100
Lacey and Hayden…..$100
In honor of Bob Turosz – Thanks for the memories! Diane and Phil Norris…..$100
Paul and Marci Bailey…..$500
Jack and Sheila Romo…..$50
Emma’s Classic Cuts…..$100
Anonymous Elf…..$250
From the Larosa Family…..$200
Paula and Michael Golini…..$100
Anonymous….. $500

Subtotal this week…………$________

Previously acknowledged………$$24,380

Total contributions this week: $26,780