Back in 2005, when the Mirror launched the first Season of Sharing campaign to aid a worthy cause within the local area, the fund-raising effort was but a positive experiment to determine how this area would react to such a well-intentioned undertaking amid the hustle and bustle of the end-of-year holidays.

At the campaign’s close, the Mirror, contributors and everyone else associated with the campaign were optimistic that Season of Sharing could be a positive addition to all of the other good things that make the holidays here special — without damaging other charitable activities that have existed here for a long time, such as the Salvation Army’s kettle fund-raising.

“Yes, let’s do it” was the ultimate decision regarding whether to go forward with the campaign in 2006.

The beneficiary of the first campaign was the U.S. Armed Forces Mothers, and the Brian Morden Foundation was targeted as the recipient of Season of Sharing 2, although a number never became associated with any of the campaigns that came after the first one.

And, even during the pandemic, Season of Sharing was an uplifting component of the holiday season.

Now, of course, it is November 2024 and time for Season of Sharing to again be launched, and again there is a cause worthy of everyone’s support because it is such an important part of the Altoona-Blair County area — but also worthy of similarly directed campaigns in communities across this nation.

In Altoona-Blair, it is called the Central PA Humane Society.

As this weekend’s Mirror article associated with the campaign notes, the committee that selects Season of Sharing recipients feels that the shelter’s own fund-raising efforts would be augmented through this broad annual appeal — by reaching potential donors who might not know how much the Humane Society helps.

And it can be said without hesitation that the Humane Society helps tremendously by way of its mission “to prevent animal neglect and cruelty through education and enforcement while providing a safe haven and finding forever homes for those in need.”

Meanwhile, for the benefit of people who are unaware, it is important to point out that Central PA Humane Society is a no-kill shelter. That means, no matter how unadoptable an animal might be, it will not be euthanized.

The humane no-kill status, of course, creates financial challenges that shelters that euthanize do not have.

The organization points out that there has been an ever-rising demand to care for pets surrendered by owners, found as strays or discovered neglected and ill in pet-hoarding circumstances.

Actually, that demand is constantly outpacing the shelter’s physical capacity, which brings up a very serious topic with which the society is dealing.

As Becky Felton, CPHS outreach and development director, has pointed out, the society’s current quarters along Pleasant Valley Boulevard are “literally coming down around us.”

Although CPHS is planning for new, larger quarters that would better meet the community’s needs, the cost of that facility is estimated to be in excess of $3.5 million.

A way needs to be found to raise that additional money, beyond the scope of what Season of Sharing is dedicated to providing.

On both fronts, the opinion of Mirror Publisher Dan Slep, expressed in today’s news article, rings true:

“The shelter has helped the community for decades and it’s time for the community to help them in a bigger way.”