The annual Christmas Basket Fund grew to $5,502 on Monday with recent donations of $1,250.

The newest donations include:

• In memory of family, $100, from Janet Barkes
• In memory of my best friend, $50, from Slimbeanie
• In lieu of Christmas cards and in memory of loved ones, $100, Larry and Brenda Montgomery and Steve and Sandy Prather
• In memory of Tommy Joe Fenton, $50, from "the girls"
• Merry Christmas, $200
• In loving memory of our parents, Carl and Frieda VonDielingen and Bill and Margaret Baker, and our son, Jacob Baker, $100, from Joe and Patty Baker
• In memory of Harry and Teresa Bast, Robert Chisham, Margaret Tabor and Richard Chisham, $250, from Bob and Melba
• In memory of Clinton and Harold Winkler and family, $50, from Roger Winkler
• In memory of Andy Ent, $25, from John D. Britton
• In gratitude for my nieces, Barbara Cooper Janicki and family, Linda Cooper Perkins and family and Leslie Cooper Sockwell and family, $75, from Helen Clark
• In lieu of Christmas cards and in memory of my wife, Faye, and my parents and grandparents, $100, from Buddy E. Tidd
• In loving memory of our son, Billy, $100, from Pat and Jerry Norrell
• In memory of Gerald "Bones" and Mildred Graves, $50, from Chris and Steve Letsinger

Donations may be mailed to or dropped off at American Legion Post 89, The Tribune or any JCB branch. Donors and their dedications are published daily in The Tribune.

Donations allow for $50 JayC Food Stores gift cards to be distributed to less-fortunate people in the area whose applications are approved.

Requests for assistance will be accepted through Dec. 15. In order to receive one of the gift cards, people must live in Jackson County and submit a letter stating their need for assistance. Requests should be mailed to American Legion Basket Fund, P.O. Box 566, Seymour, IN 47274.

There is a limit of one gift card per person and one per address. Requests that list a post office box address will not be accepted.

Businesses, corporations, service groups, churches, individuals or families may donate. Donors may contribute anonymously if they choose and may dedicate their donations in memory or in honor of others.

The fund was started in 1945 by veterans returning home to Seymour and Jackson County from World War II to provide food for area families at Christmas.

Originally, the fund served those in need in Seymour, but it later was expanded to include all of Jackson County.