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Editor's note: The Time is Now to Help was founded by a local businessman who knew extreme poverty as a child. With the help of donations from the community, The Time is Now is able to help local residents in need.

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Dear readers,

The “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” show airs live on CNN at 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011. It has been a whirlwind of activity for The Time Is Now to Help. I thank everyone who took the time to vote for me and The Time Is Now to Help over the last few months. We thank CNN that our charity has been recognized internationally for the good works all of us do in our communities.

If we are not chosen as the top honoree, we will be grateful for the $50,000 that CNN will award The Time Is Now to Help next week and the honor of our charity bringing to light the plight of so many in our country. Every penny of these funds will help the many, many people turning to us in desperation.

I was thinking back on all the stories I brought to you since CNN began its filming. There were many people to whom we provided assistance that CNN did not put in the film. There was the family I visited with Black-Eyed Peas frontman and music producer Will.i.am who has a child sick with cancer. The father’s hours were cut at work and they could not make their rent or utilities. Will.i.am took the time to speak with them and their children.

Will.i.am was very interested in the causes of poverty and what The Time Is Now to Help is doing to ease the pain and suffering of poverty. He and I spent a long day talking about our country, our children’s educations and the future. When he left, I no longer thought of him as just a celebrity; he was also a philanthropist with a caring heart and a brilliant mind.

Will.i.am and I also visited a mother and daughter struggling to get by after leaving an abusive relationship. Will.i.am has a soft spot for single mothers as his own mother was one. He understands how hard it is for them to get by without the support and assistance from a caring spouse. He also encouraged the daughter to pursue a higher education and offered her an incentive for working hard in school — an opportunity to receive a full four-year scholarship through his foundation. Thank you, Will.i.am.

We also had planned to visit a housing project, but our time ran short. The next day after Will.i.am’s visit I brought much-needed beds, blankets, sheets and pillows to this housing project. The children, single parents and senior citizens were so grateful to receive our assistance.

I have been receiving emails and letters from all over the world praising The Time Is Now to Help and our philosophy of helping. Everyone asks: How did we begin? How do we offer assistance? How can we start our own charity just like yours?

I am flattered by all the compliments and love being sent our way. I began The Time Is Now to Help 22 years ago to fulfill my own need to ease the pains of poverty. I wanted to know that every penny I gave went directly to helping the poverty stricken. I knew the only way I could achieve this was to begin my own charity. We have grown over the years, but we still are grounded in our principles of using every penny donated to help the poverty stricken. My company pays all overhead costs and volunteers carry out all the administrative duties.

I hope all of you can watch “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” at 7 p.m. Sunday. We would love to know that all our friends, family and supporters are proud of all we do together.

I look forward to continuing our labor of love. It is all the love, prayers and positive thoughts sent my way that give The Time Is Now to Help its heart and soul. God bless each and every one of you for making The Time Is Now To Help a reality, relieving the pain and suffering of poverty for our fellow creations. Thank you and God bless everyone.

Health and happiness,

God bless everyone,

W.C./Sal Dimiceli Sr.

Please help: Make checks payable to The Time Is Now to Help, P.O. Box 70, Pell Lake, WI 53157. The Time Is Now to Help is a federally recognized 501(c)3 charitable organization licensed in Wisconsin and Illinois. You will receive a tax deductible, itemized, thank-you receipt showing exactly what every penny of your donation provided for the poverty stricken.

Here are some special events you might want to note:

• Join us at Sprecher’s Restaurant & Pub at 6 p.m. Thursday to celebrate their one-year anniversary in Lake Geneva. The event benefits The Time Is Now to Help. A complimentary buffet, new release cocktail tasting and the release of the Sprecher Winter Brew will be featured. We hope to see you there.

• McDonald’s day fundraiser: Please join us Dec. 31, when Bill McEssy will donate 100 percent of gross sales from his six local McDonald’s to The Time Is Now to Help. Please eat at one of McEssy’s McDonald’s locations: Lake Geneva, Lake Geneva Wal-Mart, Elkhorn, Delavan, East Troy or Burlington on Dec. 31 and every penny you spend will go to help the poor in our local communities.

A very special thank you to: M&S Fall Blessing, Kunes’ Country Auto Group, Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust, The Summertime Foundation, Ziegler Charitable Foundation, Geneva Lake Development Corp., Dick and Jean Honeyager, Martin O’Brien, Paper Dolls Home Furnishings, John and Kristi Hugunin, James and Marilynn Dyer, Joan Scialabba, Barbara Gudowicz, Shawn and Lisa Antle, John and Kathryn Swanson, Carol Hanke, Maurice and Shelley Peconi, Susan Russella, John and Sandra Dietschweiler, Howard and Maureen Gleason, Mary Ann Smith, Elizabeth Wallace, Margarie Egger, Kathe and Michael Beach, Howard Bryant, Margie Kerr, Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Leon and Lou Jane Koldeway, Margaret Thom, James and Eileen Dempsey, Geri Hinton, Microsoft Matching Gifts Program, K. and J. Eytcheson Sr., Richard and Carole Koehler, Dr. Christopher Williams, W.C. Family Resource Center/Food Pantry volunteers, and all of the God-loving volunteers of all our caring food pantries, all of you who support The Time Is Now to Help donation boxes and the businesses that allow our donation boxes. Anyone who would like a Time Is Now donation box in your business, please call (262) 249-7000.

The following donors made a contribution in memory of Keith Tiffany: Joanne Zeasman, Suzanne Brandner, Joyce McAuliffe, Joan Albright, Robert and Shirley Albright, Scott and Cindy McCracken, Ellwood and Lois Lee and John and Barbara Kumbier.