For all of Robeson County’s problems, the spirit of generosity is alive and well, and never is it more evident or in great supply than during the Christmas season, when there is no black, white or American Indian; rich or poor; us or them; Pirate or Ram.

There are hundreds of examples of Robesonians coming to the aid of the less fortunate during the Christmas season, and in the last couple of weeks we have highlighted several in the pages of this newspaper. But today we will focus on the Empty Stocking Fund, which ended on Monday with $51,978.26 raised, the third-highest amount ever raised for the fund, which is about 30 years old.

The fund’s total grew by $178.25 from yesterday when we discovered that a gift in that amount from Union Chapel Holiness Methodist Church was inadvertently omitted on Tuesday. This is a correction and our apology to the congregation of that church, which collected the money on Sunday.

We find it heartwarming that amount of money can be raised in a county that ranks No. 1 in poverty in the state in two-and-a-half weeks simply by making a request for help on the front page of this newspaper.

Here are a few fun facts from this year’s effort.

— There were 165 gifts made to the Empty Stocking Fund, with the average gift amount being $315.01, the largest we can recall.

— There were nine gifts of at least $1,000.

— The smallest gift was for 50 cents, but it was appreciated.

— The largest gift was for $7,156, which came from a bowling tournament organized each year by the Lumber River Council of Governments, an effort that involves dozens of individuals and sponsors.

— The next largest gift was for $5,000; we received three in that amount.

— There were 15 gifts made anonymously.

— There were 10 gifts from civic groups.

— There were 37 gifts made in honor of someone or something, or in memory of someone.

— There were 24 gifts made from churches.

— There were seven gifts from county schools.

— There were seven gifts from businesses.

— There were six gifts from government entities, including two from elected officials.

But we will save the best number for last — 1,039. That is the number of children who will be opening presents on Christmas Day because of the generosity of hundreds of Robesonians, as well as employees at the Department of Social Services who take time out of their busy holiday schedules to identify the needy families and get them redeemable $50 vouchers.

And with that, a Merry Christmas to all.