Many in our community automatically think of the Sertoma Club of Jackson County when they hear mention of the Christmas Miracle program. With good reason.

For more than 40 years, Sertomans have organized the annual drive that delivers toys to hundreds of children all across Jackson County. Christmas Miracle is, however, truly a community project with many groups, businesses, individuals and families involved, helping the 18 or so club members pull off a miracle every Christmas Eve morning.

Sertoma’s scope and impact on the community, however, extend beyond Christmas Miracle. Just as eyesight is the international focus of Lions Clubs across the country, speech and hearing is the siren call of Sertoma International. The Sertoma Club of Jackson County has long supported those efforts of helping people with speech and hearing needs here in the community.

During the spring of 2017, the club made a gift to create an endowed fund at the Community Foundation of Jackson County that will assist that work in perpetuity.

The Jackson County Sertoma Club Hearing Aid Endowment benefits an existing fund at the foundation, the Jackson County Hearing Aid Fund for School Age Children. That fund was created in February 2006 by three Seymour High School students. Its goal was to help provide hearing aids to area children. Its work continues in part through gifts from individual donors and the assistance of the Sertoma hearing aid fund.

That same eye toward the future is why the Sertoma Club recently started a new fund at the foundation with its focus on protecting the future of the Christmas Miracle program. Two factors powered the club’s decision to establish the new fund — threats from a loss of income, such as what was experienced by many nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic, to finance the program and the simple fact that the club’s membership is growing smaller and a bit older.

“Like many service clubs across the country, our membership is dropping in numbers and aging,” said John Fox, a Sertoma member and co-chair of the Christmas Miracle program for the past several years. “We want to make sure there is some money to fall back on during lean years, and we want to be in a position to help ensure that there is a future for the Christmas Miracle program with or without Sertoma.”

No, the club is in no way stepping back from its commitment to delivering toys to needy children across Jackson County, but members do want to be prepared for whatever the future may hold, club President Ryan Begley said.

“This new fund helps us — and those who support us and the program — make sure that we can buy all of those trucks, dolls, footballs, basketballs, board games and other toys that are requested every Christmas,” Begley said. “We have no intention to stop, but it’s always good to be prepared.”

This is the Sertoma Club’s third endowment established at the foundation. The club created the Jackson County Sertoma Club Endowment in November 2000. Annual grants from that fund have helped finance the club’s scholarship program. Earlier this year, Sertoma awarded seven scholarships during honor day programs at Jackson County high schools.

Sertoma Club Treasurer Jim Kloote said the new fund is another example of ensuring the club’s gifts from area residents are used to benefit folks here in Jackson County.

“We work hard at making sure that gifts are benefiting local needs,” Kloote said. “We know that’s important to our individual donors and the businesses that support our work.”

Before closing, let me say this: As a matter of transparency, I should point out that I am a longtime member of the Sertoma Club of Jackson County. My family and I — like many individuals and other families — have been wrapping toys through many December evenings and delivering toys to little girls and boys for many, many years. We look forward to it each Christmas and plan to do so for many more.

Anyone can make a donation to the Sertoma Christmas Miracle fund. You can call me at the foundation at 812-523-4483 or visit our office at 107 Community Drive in Seymour. Gifts may also be made online at cfjacksoncounty.org. Click on the “Donate Now” button.

Dan Davis is president and chief executive officer of the Community Foundation of Jackson County. The foundation administers more than 200 funds with assets of more than $16 million. For information about how you can make a donation to any of the funds administered by the foundation or how you might start a new fund, call 812-523-4483 or send an email to [email protected].