Thanks to you, more than 3,000 children will receive the warm clothes they so desperately need this season. Warm the Children has met -- and surpassed -- its goal for this year. However, it’s because of your help from the previous year that we were able to do that.

The goal is to go in strong in 2012. This year, our goal was to help 3,000 children. When all of the shopping trips have wrapped up in January, you will have helped 3,066 children in total. At $90 per child, that means you donated over $275,000 to help kids in 2011.

While Warm the Children was successful this season, there will be more kids in need and kids who have outgrown or outworn their current winter gear. That’s why those end of the year donations are so important.

Warm the Children is vital to those it helps.

“I have received so much feedback from families that without this program, their kids would not have warm winter clothes,” according to Jill Tewsley, who runs Warm the Children for AnnArbor.com. “Or that this support helped them purchase a Christmas gift for their kids... something they would not have been able to do if Warm the Children had not helped to purchase warm coats and boots.”

As the holidays approach, please remember those in your community who need your help. Consider making donations in someone’s name, a gift that will mean so much to so many.

Even the smallest amount helps.

AnnArbor.com and our fiscal partner United Bank & Trust absorb all overhead costs. We also work with the Ann Area Arbor Community Foundation to provide fiscal oversight as our nonprofit partner.

There are many easy ways to give. You can do so online by visiting annarbor.com/warmthechildren. There, you can also find information on becoming a volunteer shopper. Shoppers handle the vouchers and assist families in shopping, ensuring that parents make wise purchasing decisions.

You also can make a donation in person by visiting any United Bank & Trust branch in Washtenaw County, or you can mail a donation to Warm the Children, c/o United Bank & Trust, PO Box 1127, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1127.

Throughout the year you can also visit our Community Space at 301 E. Liberty St. in downtown Ann Arbor and make a donation when you get a cup of coffee. The coffee is donated by local brewers, and all proceeds go to Warm the Children. This season, Mountain Country Coffee has donated all of the coffee for the 2011 Warm the Children campaign season.