Empty Stocking Fund Opens Annual Donation Drive

The Beaumont Enterprise's 110-year-old campaign is collecting donations to support toy programs and food pantries this holiday season.

Updated on Nov. 15, 2026 in Philanthropy

Empty Stocking Fund Opens Annual Donation Drive

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Beaumont Enterprise has launched its annual Empty Stocking Fund campaign, which is accepting donations this year. The fund plans to spend $25,000 on toy programs and food pantries.

Why it matters

The fund depends on contributions from individuals, families and businesses across Southeast Texas to provide holiday assistance. Donations made during this year's campaign will help determine how much the fund can distribute in 2027.

The fund plans to spend $25,000 this year, with roughly $10,000 going to toy programs and $15,000 to food pantries and organizations working with at-risk youth. Its 1920 Christmas effort raised $206, while the fund reports more than $2 million raised over its history, but the current campaign's total to date was not reported.

The players

Beaumont Enterprise

The Beaumont newspaper that runs the Empty Stocking Fund and accepts donations at its office.

reVision of SETX

A Beaumont-based partner organization that works with the Empty Stocking Fund to distribute aid.

The details

Donors can contribute through the fund's PayPal account using the campaign's QR code, or mail a check using the donation form published in The Enterprise. The fund works with reVision of SETX in Beaumont and Resilience in Port Arthur, and supports neighborhood food pantries, many run by churches, along with the Lamar University food pantry. Its roots trace to 1914, when Florence Stratton started the Milk and Ice Fund.

1914: Florence Stratton starts the Milk and Ice Fund, the origin of the campaign.
1920: Effort shifts toward Christmas assistance and raises $206 for 30 to 40 families.
1982: Mascot E.J. is created by Gene Dumatrait.
1983: The Beaumont Journal merges with the Enterprise and the campaign is renamed.
2026: The fund is currently accepting donations for holiday distribution.

Roadmap

The campaign continues a tradition that began in 1914 with Florence Stratton's Milk and Ice Fund, which later shifted toward Christmas assistance in 1920. Today's drive extends that more-than-century-long local effort to supply holiday toys and food assistance.

Residents who want to help can donate through PayPal using the campaign's QR code or mail a check using the form printed in The Enterprise. Donations made now will shape how much the fund can distribute next year.

The takeaway

Small, regular contributions from households across Southeast Texas are what allow a century-old holiday fund to keep reaching local families. Giving through the current campaign directly shapes what the fund can provide in 2027.