North Carolina Town Adopts My Hometown
(Wow, a town in North Carolina adopted my hometown for Christmas. God bless you.)
Brevard gathers toys at parade for children in Mississippi town
Jonathan Rich
Hendersonville (NC)Times-News Staff Writer
BREVARD--The Brevard Christmas parade will be more than just a gathering of marching bands and pretty floats this year.
The downtown event will be a way for the people of Transylvania County to bring the spirit of the holiday season to an upstate Mississippi community devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Brevard resident and Red Cross volunteer Sheri Walters said she felt the need to help the people left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina after working with relief efforts near the Gulf Coast this fall.
"The people there are slowly putting their lives back together," Walters said. "Some are just now getting their electricity back, and it's three months later."
Walters was working with the Red Cross about an hour south of Jackson, Miss., in the town of Brookhaven. After seeing the aftermath of the late summer storms, she was moved to ask leaders in Brevard to assist the town of Ellisville, Miss., population 3,650.
"It's a small town that just got devastated by category 4 winds," Walters said. "The storm just wiped out trees, signs and everything else. You would know a church was supposed to be there because a cross was in the courtyard, but there was no building left standing behind it."
Because of that desperate situation, Walters asked city leaders in Brevard to partner with their Mississippi counterparts to provide gifts for the children of Ellisville.
"The City Council felt because it was such a small town, not really that much smaller than Brevard, it might otherwise be off the radar screen compared to the bigger cities of St. Louis or those closer to the coast, which received a lot of aid," she said. "Many people might not be aware of the difficulties in Ellisville, but they got hit just as hard."
Monday night Brevard City Council unanimously passed a resolution designating Dec. 3 "Elves of Ellisville Day" in Brevard and urging local residents to place unwrapped toys on the Rotary Club of Brevard's float in the upcoming Christmas parade.
"When I spoke with Tim Waldrop, the mayor of Ellisville, he told me a lot of people were spending their Christmas money to reshingle their roof or make other necessary home repairs," Mayor Harris said. "He said it wasn't going to be as good a Christmas as it would have been otherwise."
All the gifts donated at the parade will later be loaded up on a truck and driven by Harris to Mississippi.
"This is just a gesture, but if at all possible we want to make this happen for the children down there," he said. "Whenever people go through that level of devastation, I think it's up to those of us who can to put our best foot forward."
Walters said she hopes her hometown will come together in the spirit of the holidays for those in need."I'm just thrilled the city and the Rotary are working together on this," she said. "Any time you can bring the spirit of the mountains to others by reaching out is a delight."
Brevard gathers toys at parade for children in Mississippi town
Jonathan Rich
Hendersonville (NC)Times-News Staff Writer
BREVARD--The Brevard Christmas parade will be more than just a gathering of marching bands and pretty floats this year.
The downtown event will be a way for the people of Transylvania County to bring the spirit of the holiday season to an upstate Mississippi community devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Brevard resident and Red Cross volunteer Sheri Walters said she felt the need to help the people left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina after working with relief efforts near the Gulf Coast this fall.
"The people there are slowly putting their lives back together," Walters said. "Some are just now getting their electricity back, and it's three months later."
Walters was working with the Red Cross about an hour south of Jackson, Miss., in the town of Brookhaven. After seeing the aftermath of the late summer storms, she was moved to ask leaders in Brevard to assist the town of Ellisville, Miss., population 3,650.
"It's a small town that just got devastated by category 4 winds," Walters said. "The storm just wiped out trees, signs and everything else. You would know a church was supposed to be there because a cross was in the courtyard, but there was no building left standing behind it."
Because of that desperate situation, Walters asked city leaders in Brevard to partner with their Mississippi counterparts to provide gifts for the children of Ellisville.
"The City Council felt because it was such a small town, not really that much smaller than Brevard, it might otherwise be off the radar screen compared to the bigger cities of St. Louis or those closer to the coast, which received a lot of aid," she said. "Many people might not be aware of the difficulties in Ellisville, but they got hit just as hard."
Monday night Brevard City Council unanimously passed a resolution designating Dec. 3 "Elves of Ellisville Day" in Brevard and urging local residents to place unwrapped toys on the Rotary Club of Brevard's float in the upcoming Christmas parade.
"When I spoke with Tim Waldrop, the mayor of Ellisville, he told me a lot of people were spending their Christmas money to reshingle their roof or make other necessary home repairs," Mayor Harris said. "He said it wasn't going to be as good a Christmas as it would have been otherwise."
All the gifts donated at the parade will later be loaded up on a truck and driven by Harris to Mississippi.
"This is just a gesture, but if at all possible we want to make this happen for the children down there," he said. "Whenever people go through that level of devastation, I think it's up to those of us who can to put our best foot forward."
Walters said she hopes her hometown will come together in the spirit of the holidays for those in need."I'm just thrilled the city and the Rotary are working together on this," she said. "Any time you can bring the spirit of the mountains to others by reaching out is a delight."
posted by ss at 1:15 PM
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