For the past week or so, the Suffolk News-Herald has been featuring stories about prominent people from the city and the memories that make Christmas special for them.

The articles have, so far, highlighted memories from Lt. Johnny Anthony of the Salvation Army, Win Winslow of the Suffolk Foundation and Suffolk School Superintendent Deran Whitney. Whitney recalled the effort he and his wife put into making sure their daughter understood the importance of giving, not just receiving.

“I believe the blessings we receive are based on the blessings we give,” he said. “It’s a very special feeling when you’re able to provide for someone who may not have or may be doing without. We owe it to ourselves to help those in need of help.”

This series is one of the ways the Suffolk News-Herald is working to get the word out this year about the Cheer Fund, the newspaper’s annual fundraising effort in support of Suffolk’s Toys for Tots program.

Every dollar raised by the Cheer Fund goes toward the purchase of toys that are then distributed by the Salvation Army to parents and grandparents whose youngsters might not otherwise find anything under the tree on Christmas Day.

We appreciate those who have shared their Christmas stories thus far, and we’re excited to share similar stories from other prominent Suffolk residents in the coming weeks.

But mostly we appreciate the continued support of this community — including folks like Anthony, Winslow and Whitney — for the Cheer Fund. Without you, we could not raise the approximately $35,000 needed to buy toys each year.

If you haven’t yet contributed, there is still time.

To give, write a check payable to the Cheer Fund and mail it to P.O. Box 1220, Suffolk, VA 23439, or stop by our office at 130 S. Saratoga St. Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Online giving is also available. To give using a credit or debit card or your PayPal account, click “Donate Here” at the top of our home page, www.suffolknewsherald.com.

Cheer Fund donations are printed in the Suffolk News-Herald and can be made in honor of or in memory of a loved one. The donor can be listed anonymously if he chooses. The donor can also have his photograph taken giving the check to be published in the newspaper.

Please consider a donation this year. You can be certain that your contribution will help make some child’s Christmas. And, as Whitney said, your blessing will be a great one.