The Greater Newark Holiday Fund began in 1937. America was still locked in the grip of the Great Depression, when unprecedented poverty and joblessness stalked the country.

Moved by the hardships they saw around them, a group of businessmen were inspired to provide Christmas presents to children on the streets of Newark. It was the start of a lasting tradition.

By the 1950s this initiative had grown into the Greater Newark Christmas Fund. It now funded relief efforts by several local social service agencies during the holiday season. The Newark Evening News promoted the Fund by carrying appeals for donations and stories of the good it was doing.

In 1972, when the News ceased operations, Mort Pye, then editor of The Newark Star-Ledger, instituted a partnership with the Fund that continues to this day. The Fund extended its geographic reach to cover Essex, Union, Passaic, Hudson, Morris, and Bergen Counties.

In 2002 the organization changed its name to the Greater Newark Holiday Fund, reflecting the cross-denominational nature of its mission. Despite the fact that it operates only two months a year, over the years the Fund has raised and distributed nearly $10 million to assist thousands of people in northern New Jersey. Yearly donations are approaching a half million dollars a year, a tribute to the civic generosity of the people of New Jersey.