Christmas is merrier for hundreds of Hawai'i families today thanks to the generosity of Island residents.

Children who have little will have toys to unwrap or new clothes for school. Families who have slept on the floor will have beds, and others will be able to share family meals at dining room tables. All thanks to thousands of Island residents who donated this year to The Advertiser Christmas Fund.

Twenty-eight-year-old A.L. experienced that generosity firsthand this week. She stood amazed as volunteers at the Community Clearinghouse loaded her small, green sedan with boxes of clothing, household items and toys — all given by people after reading about her situation in The Advertiser.

A.L. and her husband are raising three children and helping care for A.L.'s sick older sister. A.L.'s husband works full time, but their bills have become too much to handle.

"I cannot go to the store and buy things like that," she said as box after box were placed in the trunk of her car.

She made sure not to bring her two older children along and said she was going to rush home to wrap the items. "I want to surprise them," she said.

Maria Chomyszak, Helping Hands Hawai'i Community Clearinghouse program manager, said people have been especially generous this year.

The Community Clearinghouse was stuffed with items donated by our readers — everything from couches to beds to clothing.

"We had a hard time fitting everything into the warehouse," Chomyszak said.

Hawai'i residents, military families, and Mainlanders who think of Hawai'i as home away from home all made sure many families who need a little help for the holidays got it.

As of today, The Honolulu Advertiser Christmas Fund has reached more than $150,000, up from the $91,000 raised by Christmas Day in 2004. A total of $184,297 was raised by the end of the 2004 Christmas Fund drive.

Donations will continue to be accepted for this year's Advertiser Christmas Fund.

Our anonymous Santa once again is matching the first $25 of each donation to the Christmas Fund.

Many of the families helped by this year's drive live at Weinberg Village Waimanalo, a program that offers temporary housing for families who have lost their homes and have been living on the beach or out of their cars.

Holly Holowach, program manager at Weinberg, said the families who are helped are "amazed to see how many people really do care about them."

"They all come from a situation where they don't have anything," she said. "They often get things that they could never afford otherwise."

Many families received items many of us take for granted, such as beds, washing machines and refrigerators — gifts that will keep on giving long after the holiday season ends, Holowach said.

Thanks to readers' generosity, many children will no longer be forced to sleep on the floor or go to school worrying about being teased for wearing old clothes, Chomyszak said.

"A lot of families were asking for things that are going to resonate for the rest of the year, beyond Christmas time," she said.

She said she was also overwhelmed by the outpouring of monetary donations this Christmas.

J.M., a single mother of six who gets no help from the children's father, asked only for Christmas gifts for her sons and daughters and some household items.

Students at 'Aikahi Elementary "adopted" J.M. and her family and bought all the things on their wish list — clothing for the children, toys, blankets and diapers. Community Clearinghouse also arranged for the family to receive a dryer, and gift cards to a grocery store and discount store.

"That is what Christmas is really about," Chomyszak said.

RECENT DONATIONS TO THE ADVERTISER CHRISTMAS FUND