Getting together with family and friends is what makes the memories of Christmas so special for Chuckatuck native Chris Jones.

“We had the opportunity to have a Christmas where you would spend time with family and friends, and Santa Claus would come pay you a visit every year,” Jones said. “Our house was just bustling all day long on Christmas Day with family — uncles, cousins, nephews. We would go to neighbors’ and see what they got for Christmas. That’s what I grew up with.”

Jones wants to help make Christmas memorable for others in Suffolk, so that’s why he supports the mission of the Suffolk News-Herald Cheer Fund.

“They provide for so many children who otherwise would not be able to enjoy a lot of the things we have grown up with and always just taken for granted,” Jones said.

One particularly memorable gift Jones received as a boy of about 7 was a Bart Starr uniform. Starr was quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. His brother received a Redskins uniform.

“I was Bart Starr in the front yard for many an afternoon, throwing touchdown passes to win the Super Bowl,” Jones recalled.

But even this favorite gift is tied to memories of family. He remembers playing football with his brother in the field across the street.

The gift inspired a lifelong love of the Packers, and he and his grown daughter, Kaitlin, recently traveled to Lambeau Field to see the Packers play on a chilly, snowy day.

As an adult with his own family, Jones remembers his daughter’s excitement to open up presents and, in more recent years, her making presents.

“She’s very artsy,” he said. “Some of the best things aren’t the things you buy but the things you make and give to one another.

“As a parent, watching your child be able to experience the joy of opening up presents, but more importantly celebrating the birth of the Christ child, is what’s so special for us.”

The Suffolk News-Herald Cheer Fund helps ensure that every child can experience the joy of opening a present on Christmas morning.

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.

Donations for the Cheer Fund are accepted year-round. 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.