After flying B-24 bomber missions over the Himalayas during World War II and finishing Wake Forest law school, Paul Bell returned to his native Charlotte in 1948 to practice with the late Paul Eaton.

That year, Eaton took Bell to the luncheon of the Good Fellows Club, an all-male group that raises money for the working poor.

Bell's been coming back to the yearly fundraising event ever since.

Wednesday, he was there again, sitting among a record crowd of at least 1,065 members and guests that in seven minutes raised a record $275,623.66 - or nearly $40,000 a minute. The money will help working people next year who have fallen on hard times and need help with rents, mortgages, food and other basic needs.

"I love this event; it gets me in the spirit for the holidays," said Bell, 89, retired from his law practice. "We have great affluence in this city and this event gives us an opportunity to help people who have great needs - hard-working people who just need a little help."

The club has been raising money at its early-December luncheon since 1917. That was the year a group of men in a Sunday school class at Charlotte's Second Presbyterian Church launched the organization to help people who, as current club president Frank Dowd said, "fall between the cracks at other good agencies."

Last year the club raised $269,292 that helped 1,450 families in 2011. This year, Dowd set the $275,000 goal that the club just beat.

Each year, the club asks two speakers to spend time with a family that Good Fellows helps and report their findings.

Wednesday, Johnson C. Smith University President Ron Carter said he was "blessed to meet" a family experiencing difficult times, but "unwilling to take refuge in bitterness and despair."

Both parents had work hours cut, but kept their five children - ages 16, 11, 8 and 7-year-old twins - focused on the future.

The family's "turning point," Carter said, came when Good Fellows gave the family $500 for rent so it could concentrate on paying other bills.

"It stopped the eviction from their apartment," said Carter, who reported that the parents are back working full time. "I thank God for the generosity of Good Fellows."

David Darnell, co-chief operating officer at Bank of America, met a family with two children, ages 12 and 7. Their mother had health issues and their father worked extra hours at the NASCAR Hall of Fame to pay medical bills. The parents paid for health insurance for the children, but none for themselves, and they needed help with rent. The club gave them about $560 to pay rent.

"All they needed was a bridge to a better life," Darnell said. " ... Good Fellows gave them that bridge."

After those testimonials, Dowd called out high-profile members - including Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx - with oversized bags to collect donations.

As they went around the room, Charlotte developers Johnny Harris and Peter Pappas kept the crowd entertained with Charlotte-flavored humor - as members dug deep.

A sampling of the jokes:

About the Chiquita banana giant moving its headquarters to Charlotte, Pappas said: "We need to stop calling ourselves just a world-class city - and admit we're a banana republic."

And this:

"Hey Pete, what do you get when you cross a Republican with a Democrat?" Harris asked.

"This is going to get me into trouble," Pappas said. "But Harold Cogdell."

Cogdell, the newly elected Mecklenburg commissioners chairman, is a Democrat who secured Republican votes to win the post.

Club president Dowd was delighted with Wednesday's record crowd and haul, though he was embarrassed that the club hadn't set enough places and ordered enough lunches to serve at least a dozen men who sat in the back.

He had no explanation for the record turnout and donations: "If I knew, I'd bottle it up and use it next year."