Posted on Tuesday, December 10, 2002
¾¨Ó㴫ý Support Staff will deliver a sleigh full of Christmas gifts to the Children's Aid Society of Mercer County, Friday, Dec. 13.
"For the last eight years, the support staff has been involved in helping some needy children in both Mercer and Lawrence Counties celebrate Christmas," said Patricia Lewis, technical assistant at the ¾¨Ó㴫ý McGill Library and president of the ¾¨Ó㴫ý Support Staff Organization. "Each year we alternate between The Sankey Center and The Children's Aid Society to provide gifts for children who might otherwise not have anything under their tree on Christmas day.
"There is usually a list of four or five items, many of which are clothing, for each child on the wish list," continued Lewis. "In most cases, who ever takes the name usually gets most of the items on the list, and I often hear how wonderful this makes the giver feel.
"I've been in charge of coordinating the gift list and collecting the gifts for the children for six years," said Kay Allison, secretary at the ¾¨Ó㴫ý McGill Library. "It's warming to see the generosity of the support staff, especially at this busy time of year."
"It's always a pleasant surprise to see how quickly the names are taken," said Lewis. "We've never had a hard time getting volunteers to take names. In fact, sometimes we run out of names and still have staff members willing to participate."
In addition to this project, the ¾¨Ó㴫ý Support Staff have also contributed to the Tornado Relief Fund, the Amish Family Fund, and the Women's Center food drive.
For more information, contact Lewis at (724) 946-7326 or e-mail lewispl@westminster.edu.
