Red kept giving back Red Skelton left behind many CARROLL memories and accomplishments from his more than 70 years in show business but his death on September 17, 1997, in California did not end this great man's humanitarian deeds. Today Red Skelton continues to give back to his hometown. His greatest cause was to give and raise money to help children in need and poor health. He raised millions of dollars for Shriners hospitals, where he also performed for patients as a Shriner clown or his beloved character, Freddy the Freeloader, and founded a most unique charity in his hometown of Vincennes in 1963. Officially called the Red Skelton Needy Children's Christmas Clothing Fund, this charity is alive and well continuing to meet the main goal its benefactor established giving needy children - new clothes as Christmas gifts. Many residents in Red's hometown are unaware the fund still operates because it does not seek publicity by request from Red Skelton himself. Red believed true charity was in the giving and not the receiving of publicity, and he wanted to respect the privacy of recipients. The original head trustee, the late Dexter Gardner, and his successor and son, George Gardner, have honored Red's wishes, and the fund operates today as it did in the first year. The charity dates back to September 3, 1963, when Vincennes celebrated Red Skelton Day. Red was the guest of honor at a luncheon, grand marshal of a parade in his honor and the proud namesake during the original dedication of the Red Skelton Bridge on Highway 50. However, this guest of honor decided to go to work that night and performed a one-man show at Adams Coliseum. The show raised $10,000 and Red Skelton matched that amount on the spot because he wanted to do something for children in his hometown. Thus, the Red Skelton Needy Children's Christmas Clothing Fund was born. Skelton made contributions throughout the rest of his life and the fund spends only the interest to purchase clothing. Depending on the annual account interest, 10 to 15 children from the Vincennes Community School Corporation receive between $150 and $200 each in new clothing during the Christmas season from the local J.C. Penney Co. Inc. Penney store, which itself helps to increase the per child amount by giving the fund a generous discount. J.C. Penney is an important partner in the fund because store personnel send out letters of acceptance and invitations to the selected families and help to fit the children in the store. Red set up the fund based on memories from his impoverished childhood. He remembered wearing hand-me-downs from his three older brothers and often being cold in the winter because his clothing was threadbare. Red received few Christmas presents as a child because of his family's dire financial situation. Therefore, Red wanted to help children in need, give them new clothing to keep them warm in the winter and make sure they received something nice as Christmas presents. Just as Red Skelton continues to give back to his hometown, Vincennes and his fans around the globe can give back to this great stangle@vincennes.net entertainer, artist and humanitarian by contributing to build a home for his artifacts and memories. Red Skelton wanted his memorabilia sent home to Vincennes and now it needs a home of its own. June 10 the Red Skelton Performing Arts Center will host the Grand Opening Gala as part of the first annual Red Skelton Festival. The festival includes activities on both June 10 and 11 to showcase a and honor the many talents of Red Skelton including a Main Street clown parade and tours; a family day starring Tom Mullica, the world's greatest officially-endorsed Red Skelton impersonator, and a show by the local Hastey Pudding Puppet Company; and the gala performance featuring the Smothers Brothers, Mullica, and the vocal talents of VU alumni. While the weekend promises to be entertaining, fun and educational, there is an important, underlying cause to the entire affair. The gala remains the key portion to the weekend because it carries the dual role of entertainment and fundraising. Buying a ticket to the gala also makes a tax deductible contribution toward raising funds to build a Red Skelton museum. The museum will showcase the invaluable Red Skelton memorabilia donated to VU by his widow, Lothian Skelton, and help to preserve the collection for many generations to come. The complete schedule and details of this wonderful weekend can be found at the Web site of the Red Skelton Performing Arts center at http://vinu.edu/redskelton. There you will discover more details on the life, talents and achievements of Red Skelton and how he became both a legend and 20th Century Renaissance man. Carroll works for Generations at Vincennes University. Doug Carroll CALLING