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The rich tradition of the Suffolk Cheer Fund is one that has been passed on in many families in the area. 

For example, President and Dealer Lydia Duke of Duke GMC says when she moved to Suffolk in 1971, the Cheer Fund allowed her to continue the gift of sharing that her parents had passed down.

Growing up in Mississippi, Duke says, along with her younger brothers and their father, they hooked a wagon to a tractor and ventured out to pick the perfect Christmas tree.

“My younger brothers and I always had to agree on the particular tree we thought would be the prettiest that this year,” Duke recalls. “We all participated in hanging decorations on the tree. It was a family affair.”

The tradition did not stop there, as Duke’s mother would bake pecan pies to deliver to shut-ins and neighbors, taking her and her brothers with her.

“During the pre-Christmas days, my mother was in the kitchen and she was baking delicious pecan pies,” Duke said. “And then she would take us with her and we would go and deliver these pies to shut-ins and elderly neighbors sharing, teaching sharing to us at a young age.”

Duke says this instilled in her the importance of giving during the holiday season and the Cheer Fund was a way to bring joy to others and that same tradition has been taken up by her adult children.

“The Cheer Fund giving is a beautiful opportunity to make others that we will never meet have a smile on their face at Christmas time,” she said. “I also know that my adul children, I’ve passed this tradition on to them. Most recently, my daughter and her family came down and one of my gifts was a donation that they had made in my honor to the Cheer Fund. So, this is being passed down to my adult children and three grandsons.”

Duke talks about what that donation means to her at Christmas time.

“It is customary that they always do one in honor of me,” Duke said. “And I have to be honest, that’s one of the top gifts that I look forward to every year, that they remember me through the Cheer Fund, because that’s a giving gift to me but it gives to so many others. And I know that there are some big smiles on some faces due to the kindness of our adult children.”

There is still time to give to this year’s Cheer Fund.

Please send your donation payable to the Suffolk Cheer Fund to:

Suffolk Cheer Fund

c/o Margie Wiley

P.O. Box 1411

Suffolk, VA 23439

You may also stop by Ferguson Rawls & Raines, located at 332 W. Constance Road, Suffolk, VA 23434. Please call 757-539-2400 before bringing your check, or stop by the Suffolk News-Herald located at 157 N. Main St. in downtown Suffolk. With permission, a photo can be taken as you are presenting your donation.