It's not a white Christmas, but it is indeed a bright Christmas for thousands of needy children across Western Pennsylvania, thanks to your donations to the Goodfellows Toy Fund.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette readers have been lending a hand to the less fortunate since Goodfellows was founded 59 years ago, but the tradition of providing Christmas cheer to underprivileged children dates to 1894.

That year, a man named Maj. R.W.A. Simmons happened upon a group of children in a Downtown alley. He asked what they were expecting from Santa that Christmas, and they told him they figured Santa would pass them up, as he had before.

Maj. Simmons returned to his office, where he and co-worker George L. Bond, then 31 years old, hatched the idea of gathering used toys, fixing them and distributing them to needy children.

Workers in the office searched their attics and came up with enough toys for 25 children.

That was the start of what would become known as the Toy Mission.

In 1908, Mr. Bond refurbished a sled and gave it to a boy named Joey Sheer. It was the child's only gift that Christmas. The young man never forgot the act of kindness.

By 1935, the mission was serving 18,000 to 20,000 children a year. Churches, clubs, schools and families were invited to donate used and broken toys, and volunteers donated their spare time to fix, repaint and wrap them. Still overseeing it was Mr. Bond, by then in his 70s and white-haired.

Mr. Bond, of Crafton, died in 1939. In January 1941, the Optimist Club of Pittsburgh approached Mr. Bond's widow with its idea to create a memorial to her husband. The president of the Optimists at the time was none other than I.J. "Joey" Sheer, the boy with the sled who had worked his way to success.

That was the beginning of the Bond Memorial Toy Mission.

Organizers amassed thousands of wooden and metal toys, dolls, buggies, bicycles, wagons and roller skates.

The Optimist Club also bought 3,000 doll bodies for 25 cents each, and volunteers at numerous organizations sewed dresses for them.

On Nov. 19, 1947, the front page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette carried an announcement about the creation of the Post-Gazette Good Fellows:

"Even Christmas should have a 'new look' this season.

"Optimist Club members, sponsors of the Bond Memorial Toy Mission, are going to have the help of Post-Gazette Good Fellows in removing that look of disappointment from the faces of Allegheny County's underprivileged children Christmas Day."

Depots were set up to collect donated toys, and cash contributions were solicited to pay for toys for needy kids, with the promise that every contributor's name would be published in the newspaper.

Inside that day's paper appeared the very first Good Fellows donation coupon, beneath a headline: "This Is the Beginning of the Toy Parade."

In later years, the program asked contributors to donate cash rather than toys, because the burden of repairing used and broken toys had become too great. The money was to be used to purchase, wrap and deliver brand-new toys to the needy.

The program, and the generosity of Post-Gazette readers, continued to grow.

Nov. 25, 1965, saw the debut of a cartoon drawn by Post-Gazette editorial cartoonist Cy Hungerford of a tearful child holding an empty "stocking," actually a tattered sock. It became the symbol of the Goodfellows Toy Fund and remains so to this day.

Mr. Sheer, who died in 1987 at age 90, continued as the driving force behind the Goodfellows campaign until he was 85, helping to buy toys and arranging to have volunteers distribute them.

In 1999, Goodfellows teamed with the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program, which buys and distributes the gifts made possible by readers' donations.

Throughout this holiday season, you have helped to carry on the good work that began with Maj. Simmons and George Bond 112 years ago, and continued with decades of devotion by Joey Sheer, the boy who got the sled.

Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

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Today's total:.....$7,122

Grand total:.....$156,412.49

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Post-Gazette Editorial Employees.....$2,105

Churchill Valley CC.....$1,000

Anonymous.....$500

In memory of Richard L. Johnson.....$300

Marlene and Dave Wohleber.....$100

Nancy and Jeff Leininger.....$100

The Flynn family.....$100

George and Louise Jones.....$100

Anonymous.....$100

The Children of Robert C. and Virginia K. Robson.....$100

Jon Piersol.....$100

Esther Barazzone.....$100

Henry and Nancy Armstrong.....$100

Anonymous.....$75

Anonymous.....$75

Anonymous.....$75

In memory of Benny Willoughby.....$52

Zeke and Lucy Friedman.....$50

Anonymous.....$50

Margaret Fuhrman.....$50

The Mulzet family.....$50

Colleen Rekowski.....$50

Mr. and Mrs. Mark G. Wilson.....$50

In memory of Matthew W. Pustelak.....$50

In memory of Donald Etter.....$50

J.D. and R.....$50

Anonymous.....$50

In honor of Melanie by Barb and Milt Danver.....$50

Jacob and Jenna Macosko.....$50

Herb Sachs.....$50

In memory of Holly McSorley.....$50

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Wasco.....$50

Lynn Dunbar.....$50

Jack and Norma Melvin.....$50

LaRue Smythe.....$50

Walt and Susie Olsen.....$50

Marilyn Henderson.....$50

Anne and John Gentry.....$50

James Dugan.....$50

Ron and Jill Yingling.....$50

In memory of Frank and Marg Fisher.....$50

Charles Witkowski.....$50

Jennifer Carletto.....$25

Kristen Carletto.....$25

Brian Figura.....$25

Vivian Henderson.....$25

J. Eric Peters family.....$25

Anonymous.....$25

Krista and Phillip.....$25

Fara Leonard.....$25

In memory of Richard and Mary Davis.....$25

Diane Johnson.....$25

Ken and Colleen Redinger.....$25

Lesley Holot.....$25

Meighan family.....$25

Rita Woods.....$25

In memory of Benjamin Piper.....$25

The Watzmans.....$25

Chris and Rita Melvin.....$25

Elsie M. B. Murray.....$25

Anonymous.....$20

Anonymous.....$20

Anonymous.....$20

Jim and Jan.....$20

Stephen Beleznay.....$20

In memory of Marie L. Lutz.....$20

Mr. and Mrs. John Obranovich.....$20

Agnes A. Rheam.....$20

Carol and Howard.....$20

Robert and Marlene Caponi.....$20

Anonymous.....$20

Anonymous.....$20

Richard Goodman.....$20

Jacobs family.....$20

In memory of Florence and Lenny Blumling.....$20

Anonymous.....$20

Daniel and Laura Wagner.....$20