Father's Day Gift Underwritten By Uncle Sam?

A memorable Father's Day gift to troops in Afghanistan and veterans in hospitals nationwide -- and write it off on your taxes.

You can help provide a memorable Father's Day (06-16-02) to our troops in Afhanistan and to our forgotten veterans in hospitals nationwide -- and write it off on your taxes. Chicago-based GoodTime Publishing recommends a unique item for this occasion -- a never-used vintage 52-page 1963 Americana calendar, not a reprint, good for 2002! (because the dates are perfectly matched), featuring "Girl-a-Week & Joke-a-Day." Surprisingly, Uncle Sam says gifts like this are "Noncash Charitable Contributions" (IRS Publication 526 & Form 8283). As much as 20% to 30% of yours or your firm's adjusted gross income can be written off. It may even be 50% in some cases and a "carryover" to a few years. If you donate $20,000 worth of this calendar or other items and your adjusted gross income is $100,000, for example, your taxable income will shrink to $80,000 or $70,000 if you donate $30,000. A Father's Day gift to our unknown heroes of today and yesteryear is, indeed, a natural "win-win."

Our troops and veterans will certainly appreciate the "World's First" 52-page cheesecake with 365 one-liners in it, which Pulitzer-prize winning author Studs Terkel says "should be in my book, American Dreams: Lost and Found." It's also written up by The Associated Press, USA Today, Chicago Tribune... and lately by The Chicago Reader and Antique Week.

As a "history-repeats-itself rarity," this calendar was auctioned at eBay, Yahoo, and Amazon in the summer of 2001 for $100 to $110 each. Since the year is almost half over, we'll discount it 50% from its retail of $24.95 to $12.47 each in 1,000 lots or more. For a nominal fee, we'll insert your gift card, deliver them to and get receipts from USO and veterans hospital of your specification, and send out press release for you.

If you want to see the recipient's hearty surprise on video for private collection or publicity, it can be arranged with a crew of professionals respectively.

GoodTime, a specialty publisher since 1962, is a member of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and of Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (many books have been written to the effect that laughter is good medicine and humor healing). Time is running short; lots of work to do; e-mail us at goodtimepublishing@hotmail.com for details. Don't miss a good deed; you'll be glad you did it.