Today, as you’ll read in a letter on the right-hand side of this page, is what has come to be known as Giving Tuesday. After you’ve spent much of your money on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, perhaps you still have a bit of cash to spend on philanthropy. At least, we suppose that’s the idea.

We agree with the letter writer that folks in Suffolk should consider a local school, nonprofit institution or other such community organization to honor as recipients of their holiday largesse. The benefits to the community are hard to measure, but there’s little doubt that Suffolk is a far better place because of the contributions that folks make to such organizations.

Though we would never suggest that our readers divert contributions that had been intended for other nonprofit efforts in the city, we do humbly ask that those who are new to Giving Tuesday, those who might have a little extra money to donate this year or those who might be looking for a little incentive to kickstart their giving will consider making a donation to the Cheer Fund.

Every Christmas, thousands of children in Suffolk would not have toys under the tree if it weren’t for the Suffolk Cheer Fund.

The Cheer Fund collects money for the Toys for Tots program, which purchases and distributes thousands of toys to ensure the Christmas cheer spreads Suffolk-wide every Dec. 25.

The Cheer Fund started during the Great Depression to provide clothes and food for needy families. It eventually began providing toys for children and teamed up with the Toys for Tots program.

The Cheer Fund always has a goal of helping as many children as possible, so the generous support of the community is needed to make dreams become a reality.

One hundred percent of the money given to the Cheer Fund goes toward purchasing toys. There is no overhead, because newspaper employees take care of the publicity and bookkeeping, and local professionals donate their talents for needed services.

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.