The residents of Brentwood might not be recession-proof, but their spirit of giving surely is.

Last weekend locals again bucked the recessionary trend by making the annual Brentwood Regional Community Chest program a rousing success. They provided more than enough to take care of 550 local families with a box full of food, toys for every child, plus a turkey, stuffing, fresh vegetables, bread, gravy and warm holiday wishes.

More than 300 volunteers descended on Brentwood Elementary School Friday night to sort and pack the food, an annual outpouring of eagerness to help that warms the cockles of the heart. Many returned on Saturday to help distributed the baskets to the hundreds of recipients.

Contributors to the effort, as usual, were too numerous to mention individually. They included Police Explorers who directed traffic; Rotarians who cooked pancake and sausage breakfasts; employees of the Brentwood Union School District who provided facilities and muscle; city officials who helped carry the workload, hauled away the trash and provided a warehouse to stage the operation; Girl, Boy and Cub Scouts; baseball teams, church groups and entire families, all smiling and pitching in where they could.

The largess was such that thousands of pounds of food were shared with the Friends of Oakley effort, and hundreds of toys were provided to the Marines’ Toys For Tots program, which assisted in the collection this year.

The culmination of the annual program has become my favorite weekend of the year. To see so many eagerly dive into such an enormous task, smiling all the while – and even thank the Community Chest for the opportunity – is something that must be experienced to be appreciated. The memorable moments flow like a rushing river, too many to count or even remember. But this year, one little girl about 6 years old provided the topper.

The girl, whose name I did not get, was straining to retrieve a can of corn that had rolled between two barrels during the sorting process, just out of reach of her little fingers. Her mother came over and asked what she was doing, and when the girl explained, Mom said “Well, let’s go get another one instead.”

The little girl was not to be denied, however. “But we need that one,” she said. “Somebody is hungry, and it’s up to us to get it for them.” Needless to say, the barrels were moved and the can retrieved.

Planning will now commence for next year’s event, and just before Christmas we’ll do it all over. I’m sure there will be all the enthusiasm of this year and then some. Profound thanks go out to all those who donated, carried things, provided space or otherwise pitched in so that others could have a better Christmas. I look forward to seeing you all again next year, when people will again be hungry, and it will be up to us all to help.