Chronicle readers will be forgiven for feeling a bit of Helping Neighbors overload, given that our campaign to help the Family Pantry was featured in the last seven editions of 2022. But now that the fundraiser has successfully concluded, we can’t miss a chance to start the new year with some happy news.

We reported last week that the drive had reached its goal of raising $100,000, but at the time we didn’t know exactly how generous you, our readers, had been.

On Tuesday, we learned that Helping Neighbors had raised $138,940 by New Year’s Day. Your generosity continued after Christmas, with big-ticket donations of $2,500 and $5,000 coming in shortly before New Year’s. With a generous match still in place, those gifts and others added $38,940 to the Family Pantry’s account, over and above the campaign goal.

All told, you provided more than half a million nutritious meals for local families.

Your generosity, simply put, is an act of heroism. We can think of no better way to start 2023.