Scores respond to Ohio ad offering $100 to needy

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — A Thanksgiving Day newspaper ad in Ohio offering $100 each to 150 needy families has so far drawn more than 160 responses.

The three anonymous donors behind the classified ad in The Repository took their cue from a similar ad that appeared in the Canton newspaper during the Great Depression. At that time, a man known by the pseudonym “B. Virdot” offered $10 each to 75 families.

People who want to be considered for the renewed Christmas-season gesture will be judged by a priest, minister and rabbi.

The Repository reported today that two letters have come not from people seeking the money but from donors who sent their own $100 contributions so the gift offer could be extended.