Over 100 years of neighborly kindness.

1912

Over a century of giving

Over a hundred years ago, in 1912, a Berkeley banker tapped “the Berkeley Spirit” to begin one of the city’s most enduring traditions. The effort he founded has had several names — the Christmas Committee, the Christmas Fund, and now the Berkeley Holiday Fund — but its purpose has stayed true to his original goal: to give generous Berkeley residents a way to brighten the holidays of their fellow citizens.

The Berkeley Christmas Committee was born when Jo Mills, a prominent figure in the early life of the city, organized the first municipal Christmas celebration — a large-scale pageant held first in the Harmon gym, later in the Greek Theatre. Civic organizations, the public schools, and numerous churches took part. By 1936 it had grown into a colorful spectacle with 800 children and 200 adults. It entertained, and it also raised funds which, with donations from the community, provided clothing, blankets, food, and toys for families who needed them.

Jo Mills, sometimes described as the Santa Claus of Berkeley, died in 1935, and with the advent of war the pageant ceased to exist. The work of the Christmas Committee continued. Betty Hall, secretary of the organization for more than thirty years, kept a legendary collection of boxes holding the names of over 20,000 potential donors, and enlisted local Boy Scouts to address the envelopes each December.

Eventually giving gifts in kind stopped being practical. The Fund became a nonprofit and donations went out as checks sent directly to recipients. In 1992, wishing to be more inclusive and to acknowledge the diversity of Berkeley, the committee changed its name to the Berkeley Holiday Fund.

From the outset the Fund was supported by the Mayor and members of the City Council, with the Mayor acting as Honorary Chair and covering the cost of distributing funds to recipients. Those needing assistance were originally identified by churches and schools; today the Fund relies on our partner social service agencies, including the Health Department, senior centers, Head Start, BOSS, and the Center for Independent Living. The Fund has no office and no paid staff — just a board of enthusiastic volunteers.

A bequest from James M. Kaye, a former board member, lets the Fund respond to urgent requests from agencies throughout the year, meeting specific one-time needs for agency clients.

Technology, residents, and the details of Berkeley politics have all changed. The mechanism has not: neighbors give, people who know the families decide, and the gifts go out before the holidays.

Today

The kitchen table

Times have changed, but the Berkeley Holiday Fund is still an old-fashioned kitchen-table effort. Each fall, our board gathers and begins the work of sharing about the fund’s mission and soliciting donations from the Berkeley community. Funds are raised by word of mouth and through the generosity of all of the residents, the same way they’ve been collected over the past 100+ years.

Once your donations come in, our partner agencies help us build the list of individuals and families. Our board gathers again to package the gifts and get them out in time for the holidays. We’ve shifted from mailing checks to distributing cash gift cards, but the tradition started over a hundred years ago carries on.

We still meet at each other’s homes around the table. We still rely on the generosity of our neighbors to fund these efforts. We continue to share our work with all who are interested. We’d love to have you at the table.