Months of preparation and the involvement of hundreds of volunteers came to a happy end Saturday with the delivery of Christmas Friends gifts to 205 needy children and 61 senior adults in Middlesex County.
Volunteers in vans and trucks carried 268 bags spread out in 12 delivery areas throughout the county. Another group of volunteers with a covered trailer carried bicycles and other items too large for bags from one end of the county to the other.
Twenty-six bags were returned because the recipients were not at home. They were taken to the Middlesex Department of Social Services at Cooks Corner for pick up.
Christmas Friends is sponsored by the Southside Sentinel and the social services department, which screens and refers all recipients. This is the 38th year for the program.
The Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department again played a key role in the delivery process. The large bays at the Urbanna firehouse are loaned to Christmas Friends Friday afternoon and Saturday morning so the hundreds of bags can be divided and sorted in delivery order. The large contractor size bags were donated by Horn’s Middlesex Ace Hardware.
“As usual, our gratitude goes to hundreds of donors, volunteer shoppers, wrappers, delivery folks, and others who support the program in a variety of ways,” said Christmas Friends President Fred Gaskins. “Our community steps up every year to help brighten Christmas for the disadvantaged in our county.”
Planning now begins for next year.
Christmas Friends Inc. spent $30,790 for gifts this season, and donors have contributed $22,959 so far. Donations are accepted at any time during the year and will allow volunteers to get an early start when the 2024 shopping season begins.
Monetary donations can be brought to the Southside Sentinel office at 276 Virginia St. in Urbanna or mailed to Christmas Friends Inc., c/o Southside Sentinel, P.O. Box 549, Urbanna, VA 23175. Checks should be made out to Christmas Friends Inc.
ChristmasFriends.org also contains a link (below) for those who wish to donate funds through PayPal or a credit card.
Christmas Friends Inc. is a 501(c)3 corporation and donations are tax-deductible.
Monetary contributors are recognized as Christmas Friends and their donations are listed weekly in the Sentinel. Contributors who wish to remain anonymous should request that their donations be listed as such. Memorial contributions also will be acknowledged.
Donations received in recent days include:
- Saluda Baptist Church, $100
- In memory of Delores Wright and Joyce Blake by John and Traci Wright, $100
- In memory of David Kirby by his sisters, $50
- Steven Riggan, $100
- In memory of Christopher Derek Bristow. We miss you and love you Daddy, Brayson and Farrah Bristow, $50
- In memory of our Son, Christopher Derek Bristow. We miss you and love you, Marvin and Susan Hurley-Fowler, $50
- In memory of our parents and grandparents. We miss you all, Marvin and Susan Hurley-Fowler, $25
- In honor of the Poker Divas and Dew Sweepers, $200
- Thomas Phillips, $200
- Patricia Bell, $100
- In memory of Mama and Daddy, and Nano (Catherine Via) by Ricky and Wanda Walton, $100
- Garry and Micki Clay, $100
- In memory of my husband Steve Compton by Janice Compton, $100
- In memory of Gayle and Frances Anderton, $100
- James and Ginger Shackelford, $100
- Roger and Mandy on Victory Lane, $50
- In memory of Marden and John M. Bareford Sr. given by Barbara and John M Bareford Jr., $100
- Anonymous, $500
- In memory of Thomas Bland Norman given by Barbara and John M. Bareford Jr., $10
- Berean Class of Zoar Baptist Church, $100
- In memory of Fay N. Willaford given by Barbara and John M. Bareford Jr., $50
- Bob and Barbara Lovelace, $200
- In memory of Cynthia Barlowe, with love from her family, $100
- In memory of Brenda Knupp by Rick Stearns and Andrea Crawford, $100
- Leasure’s Wrecker Service Inc., $250
- In memory of Connie, Cody and Christy Carlton by Jeff and Barbara Shaw, $350
- In honor of Doris D. Hunt by Connie Jessie, $25
- In honor of Mildred Townsend by Connie Jessie, $25
- In memory of Dorothy Carneal and Carroll Lee Spencer by Ed and Ann, $40
- Clarence and Patricia Seamster, $100
- In loving memory of Jim Ray and Chic Silver by Susan Ray Silver, $100
- Trinity Lutheran Church, $750
Total this week: $4,415.
Previous total: $18,544.
Total to date: $22,959.
