As a girl during the Great Depression, Dana Woody's mother never imparted the wisdom of giving back to people in need - she just did it.

And Elsie Dewey made sure Dana and her brother understood.

"She was always taking us into other people's homes, old folks homes, to deliver a cake or a Christmas gift," Woody said. "My father was a physician and he did the same thing. There were probably a lot of people he didn't charge back in those days."

All that do-gooding rubbed off on Dana. Among other charities, she and husband Joe, a retired Charlotte ophthalmologist, give to the Observer's Empty Stocking Fund as part of their holiday.

They do it for the children - they have been since the mid-1960s, when they arrived in Charlotte.

The fund was started as early as 1920 by the Charlotte News and taken over by the Observer when the Charlotte afternoon newspaper closed in 1985. Each year, this newspaper asks readers to dig deep and help those in need. The money collected goes to the Salvation Army's Christmas Bureau, which provides toys and clothes for children in Mecklenburg and Union counties.

"I love Christmas and I'd hate for any child not to have one," Dana said. "As a child, I always had my own Christmas stocking with my name on it. The name of this fund, 'Empty Stocking,' appeals to me and moves me to give.

"I don't know these children, but I don't need to know them. I know they're in need."

At an early age, Joe Woody also learned to help the needy.

He grew up in Bessemer City, where his father ran the local train depot.

Back then, his family ate its big meal at lunchtime.

Rarely a week went by that a "hobo" riding the rails didn't knock at the back door asking for a meal.

"My mother always went to the kitchen and prepared them a plate of food," Joe said. "They'd sit on the back steps and eat. If they wanted more, my mother got them more. Things were not good for a lot of people. Back then, people were more sharing.

"If you had something to help others, you did it. A child sees those things and remembers them."

With Joe retired, they've thought about cutting back on some charitable giving.

"It's hard to do, especially for something that helps children at Christmas," Dana said. "We can't give to everybody, but we can contribute to help.

"It's good to give, especially to an empty stocking."