<\/p>\n
The Goodfellow Fund provides $100 gift cards to low-income families.<\/p>\n
Among the many things the legendary Amon G. Carter did in his lifetime was to be a driving force for two organizations that help make life better for children and families in his beloved Tarrant County.<\/p>\n
Carter died in 1955, but the Goodfellow Fund and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Tarrant County are still going strong. And now they are joining forces to strengthen one of Carter\u2019s favorite times of the year, assisting underprivileged families during the holidays.<\/p>\n
Coincidentally, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County is celebrating 100 years of service in 2026. Carter served on the board of directors for the original Panther Boys Club, which would later change its name.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Goodfellow Fund has been around since 1912 when Carter, then publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, made it his newspaper\u2019s charity.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur partnership combines the resources of the Goodfellow Fund with the reach and trusted reputation of the Boys & Girls Clubs, emphasizing the value of community-based collaborations,\u201d B&G Clubs of Tarrant County President\/CEO Daphne Barlow said. \u201cTogether, we can extend our collective impact and make an even greater difference across Tarrant County.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Coffman, who recently retired as the president and editor of the Star-Telegram, serves as president of the board of Star-Telegram Charities, the nonprofit organization that operates the Goodfellow Fund. He is excited about the partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Tarrant County.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe partnership will make the Goodfellow Fund more efficient, benefitting the children of Fort Worth and Tarrant County while promoting good stewardship of the funds so generously donated by individuals, businesses and organizations in the community,\u201d Coffman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to think that Amon Carter would be proud to see two organizations that he cared so deeply about joining forces help families who may be struggling and to bring smiles to kids\u2019 faces.\u201d<\/p>\n
$100 Old Navy gift cards for children<\/p>\n
Calling it \u201ca great way to continue the legacy of Amon Carter and make it a full circle moment,\u201d Goodfellow Executive Director Keshia Bruno said this year they have once again joined with Old Navy clothing stores to offer $100 gift cards to children.<\/p>\n
Barlow noted that when the opportunity arose to partner with Goodfellows, it simply made sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking smarter with the resources we\u2019ve all worked so hard to secure is important. It\u2019s even more important as families face hard choices every day about housing costs, fuel costs and groceries,\u201d she said. \u201cThis partnership allows us to connect children and families with resources made possible by people in our community who care deeply about their neighbors and want to make a difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy working together to make sure that we reach families where they are already receiving services at the Boys & Girls Club helps families reduce transportation costs. At the same time, this also helps Goodfellows reach families more efficiently and reduce outreach costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bruno said Goodfellows plans to offer 6,000 of the gift cards to families facing financial hardships. The role of the B&G Clubs, which served over 88,000 youth in Tarrant County last year, will be to help identify youngsters who are in need of new clothes and new shoes.<\/p>\n
They will assist families in completing the Goodfellows application. They will also help in the distribution of the gift cards to selected families.<\/p>\n
Goodfellow Fund history<\/p>\n
The Goodfellow Fund began as an offshoot of the first newspaper charity drive in the United States, started by the Chicago Tribune on Dec. 10, 1909. A Chicago city attorney wrote a letter challenging his friends to donate the money they would have spent on holiday partying to charity.<\/p>\n
A couple years later, the Advertising Club of Fort Worth staged the first local Goodfellow campaign. On the day after Thanksgiving in 1912, Carter brought the tradition to the Star-Telegram.<\/p>\n