Special Note:
I personally knew Eleanor Still until her death and have known this organization over 20 years. The following information was written a few years ago, but the contact information has been updated and is correct. Your help this Christmas is both needed and will absolutely help a needy family. Please do all you can! - GCJ

There are always going to be those less fortunate out there in need of assistance, and for nearly 30 years, Eleanor Still and husband Clarence opened their home to help. In 1974, following the sudden deaths of her parents, brother and sister, Eleanor followed her minister's advice and re-evaluated the purpose of her life. Seeing the tragedy as a possible sign from a higher power, the minister urged Eleanor to turn her loss into a gain for others. The advice was taken to heart and that first year she provided aid to eight families. Friends of Forgotten Children was born.

Eleanor began her life of giving with an unemployed, alcoholic mother and her three daughters. Two of the children were high-school dropouts at age 16, which left the youngest girl without much guidance. Eleanor and her family of volunteers provided the girl with some much-needed attention and asked her about the one thing she wanted for Christmas that year. The response was a set of bunk beds. With that request, the search started. A set was eventually found and presented to the family on Christmas. The response was enough to fuel Eleanor and her family's desire to help more.

"The next day after Christmas, I bumped into the mother," remembered Eleanor. "She said, 'I don't know how to thank you. I didn't think that anybody cared about us, but you're a perfect stranger and you made all my children's wishes come true.'"

Shortly thereafter, the mother gave up her drinking and smoking habits, picked up a job, and sent her girls back to school. "I thought in some ways that was a miracle by itself," said Eleanor. Eleanor's gift of giving has even extended to times when she has been the one in need. Shortly after receiving a new coat as a gift from her husband, Eleanor had to spend some time in the hospital due to pneumonia. While there, she met Joanne, a mother of two kids whose husband was a patient brought in because he dying of AIDS.

"She had been telling me about the hard times she had been having. She didn't have much food at home and had an uncle watching the two kids, but they couldn't go to school yet until they got some warm clothes," said Eleanor.

Following her discharge from the hospital, Eleanor invited Joanne over to the house for coffee and to see if there was some money in the Friends fund to help out. As it turned out, only $70 was available, but it was enough to take her shopping. As they were getting ready to leave, Eleanor prompted Joanne to put on her coat to combat the winter chill, but all the struggling mother had was a button-down sweater.

"I said, 'I'm going to give you a jacket,'" Eleanor offered. "I brought out my old jacket and the new one. I was hoping she'd settle for the old one … she liked my new one. I ended up giving her my new jacket."

That kind of generosity has brought Eleanor numerous honors over the years including Citizen of the Year and the Paul Harris Award.

"When you give, it makes you feel different about a lot of things. You help people and you feel good about it," declared Eleanor.

Eleanor is gone now and the organization has moved to new headquarters in Penacook. FOFC accepts "just about anything" and welcomes monetary contributions. Donations can be dropped off or mailed to 224 Bog Road, Penacook, NH 03303. Due to the winter season, they are currently seeking such items as long coats, warm blankets, socks and ski pants.

For more information, please call 603.753.4801 or visit their website at:
Friends of Forgotten Children