SALISBURY — The Christmas Happiness Fund gives people the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young people throughout Rowan County but it also allows folks a chance to enshrine the legacy of loved ones in a unique way that often captures the spirit of the deceased.

A recent contribution from Carolyn Brown Hicks was dedicated to the memory of Justin Monroe.

Monroe and fellow Salisbury firefighter Vic Isler lost their lives fighting a five-alarm fire at Salisbury Millworks in 2008.

Hicks said that she donates every year to keep Monroe’s memory alive.

“His mother is still alive and we believe it is meaningful to her and to all of us,” Hicks said on Friday.

Monroe was the half-brother of Brown’s son in law. She remembers a kind and compassionate young man.

“He was such a sweet boy,” she said. “He truly was.”

Brown mentioned how they would get together for a cookie party and even when Monroe got up into his older teenage years, he never felt too big to participate.

“That just shows how sweet he was,” Brown said.

Having taught in the school system, Brown knows that some teenagers might scoff at spending time with family like that but not Monroe. She said that her experiences taught her that some young people are mature for their years and that Monroe was one such example and that he took that maturity into everything he did.

“He truly did that job as his service to his community,” Brown said.

In her Christmas Happiness submission, Brown wrote that it came from Caroline and Rob Monroe and Abby and Corbin Smith and that they wanted to honor “Justin Monroe, our sweet uncle and friend,” and “our sweet Paw-Paw Eddie Monroe.”

Donations can be dropped off at the Salisbury Post’s office at 131 W. Innes Street or by mail at Christmas Happiness Fund ℅ Salisbury Post, P.O. Box 4639 Salisbury, NC 28145. Cash and checks are accepted, but the Salisbury Post cannot accept credit or debit card donations.

Recent contributions include:

• Kathy and Windsor Eagle — $500

• In honor of Carolyn Rogers — $101.07

• In memory of my husband David and in honor of our children and grandchildren, by Charlotte Hall — $200

• Anonymous — $100

• In memory of Lettie Mabry and Leslie Tucker, by Linda and Terry Thomas — $100

• In honor of Believers Sunday School Class at St Matthew’s Lutheran Church, by Patricia and Bobby Watson — $100

• In memory of Tim Short, by Chip and Luanne Short — $100

• In memory of Robert and Grace Hammond, by Carol S. Peterson — $100

• In loving memory of James and Georgia Ryan and Jimmy and Mike Ryan, by Kathy Ryan Stoessel — $25

• In loving memory of Blanche, Quiller, Margie, Smit, Marie, Rob, Mac, Bud, Mable, Bill and Pat — $200

• In memory of Cathy Wood, by Rowan Doll Society — $112

• In honor of Sue DeCamp Freeze, by Jean C Lefler — $50

• In memory of my husband Robert Cobb and mother Alda Davies, by Sandra H. Cobb — $100

• In memory of my husband John E. Bame by Sarah Bame — $25

• In memory of Bettie Harrington Fesperman and Donna Burr. Missing our members that have gone to heaven, we know you are celebrating with Jesus and families. We miss you here. Love Girl’s Nite Out Gals — $100

• In memory of David L. Huffman, by Jennifer, Jimmy, Kenzie and Chase Shoaf, Katie and Lee Sells and Kyle Huffman — $100

• In memory of our grandparents — William and Anna Huffman and Dawson and Ethel Weatherman, by Jennifer Shoaf and Kyle Huffman — $50

• In memory of Ruth E. Deadmon, by Jennifer Shoaf and Kyle Huffman — $50

• In honor of Rev. Barry Queen, by Providence UMW — $100

• In memory of David and Jackye Nolen, by Kristy, Chad, Kristopher, Michael and Kelsey Wood — $100

The current running total is $30,138.19