Bob Maginnis reports on how this year's giveaway went up in Maryland ...

Thanks to the generosity of three anonymous donors, more than 25 people on the region were able to make someone else's Christmas a little better this year.

This was the second year for the event, begun by a local businessman who has been successful and who wanted to share some of his blessings with others in the area.

Last December, this gentleman, who knew me only from reading things I'd written, came to The Herald-Mail offices with $2,000 in cash and 20 copies of "Daily Readings from 'Your Best Life Now'" by Joel Osteen, pastor of a large church in Houston, Texas.

He told me that the book had inspired him and that he wanted to share it with others. He also wanted people to think about the less fortunate at this time of the year.

He came in this year with another $2,000 and another 20 copies of the Osteen book. Just as we did last year, we asked people to complete this sentence:

"If I had $100, I could make someone's Christmas better by ..."

I wrote about that on Dec. 6. A day or two later, another man, whom I did not know, brought in another $1,000 and 10 copies of Osteen's book.

I was off during the week of Dec. 19, but came in to prepare a final list of recipients. There on my desk was a letter marked "private and confidential." Inside were two postal money orders, with instructions that one go to the "Better Christmas" fund and the other to the fund set up for Devin Fales, the Keedysville youth with a rare condition called Fanconi anemia.

In all, we were able to fulfill all but two requests, both of which came in past the deadline.