Baseball Community Involvement Surry Knight's Baseball Team Assist with Food Drive Helping hand: Sheriff's office gives toys and food
DOBSON - More than 40 residents at Surry Manor Apartments were surprised to find deputies and other members of the Surry County Sheriff's Office knocking on their doors Saturday morning. But they were received with open arms. Deputies, and volunteers that included the Surry Community College Knights baseball team, delivered 45 grocery-filled boxes to the low income apartment complex. "It's good for people to encounter the sheriff's office in a good way," said Sheriff Graham Atkinson, who spent the early part of Saturday helping deliver 225 boxes of foods to different area homes. The office will deliver an additional 50 boxes next week, and buy toys for close to 300 children Monday at Wal-Mart. The project is part of the annual Sheriff's Christmas Fund, which aims to feed those in need and provide toys for children for the holiday season. "It feels good to do something positive, it's almost like a ministry. It takes a lot of money that mostly comes from donations, and the biggest givers are the ones who have been hit the hardest from the economy," Atkinson said yesterday. "It feels like you are watching a miracle happen every year. It's out of control, you watch more money show up and watch more volunteers show up. The Surry Community College baseball team showed up just ready to help, afterwards they said sign us up for next year." He said the idea for the Christmas Fund developed when he was teaching D. A. R. E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and realized one of his students was wearing the same clothes every day. "It was obvious the clothes were too small for him," he said. "We talked to Wal-Mart about getting clothes for him." From that developed the Sheriff's Christmas Fund, which has served families and children since the early 1990s through partnerships with Wal-Mart and local schools.
"Our needs were really met today," she said. "Our need and want list goes on and on and on, but it was really a blessing to have that taken care of today. I'm grateful to the sheriff's office for doing this every year." Ella White, who also lives in Surry Manor, said the extra groceries couldn't have come at a better time for her and her family, who visits her every year Christmas night. "I live on a fixed income, but it doesn't go far with paying utilities and rent," she said. "I have to try and have some to live on. I have to stretch it to last month to month." White said her daughter lost her job earlier this year and was also struggling to make ends meet, so she asked the sheriff's office if they could also give her a box for her daughter. "I know she feels the same way I do (about the sheriff's office)," she said. White said she had to give the ultimate thanks to God. "It's God's blessing. If it weren't for God, this wouldn't be here, they wouldn't have the jobs they have and be able to do what they did today," she said. "I think they're doing a good job, and I'm sure they could help even more people." Surry Manor resident Louise Amy said the extra groceries will help her prepare Christmas dinner for her brother and father who are visiting her for the Christmas season. "Every year I send a thank-you letter to the sheriff's office," she said. "It means a lot for them to come do this every year. Things are tight and God's been better to us than the year before, it's a blessing." Her friend and neighbor Tina Nice agreed. "We're all on fixed income," said the 42-year-old. "I don't get enough food stamps, and this provides extra food for the Christmas season that I couldn't afford to get. It helps me stretch the foods stamps a little further." Nice added that she also sends them a thank-you card every year and hopes the sheriff's office staff knows they're appreciated. "I wish they could know how grateful we are. I don't think I could show it enough. I really appreciate it, but I could never say it enough," she said. |
"The sheriff's office gets a lot of credit, but this is really a joint effort with Wal-Mart and the schools," Atkinson said. "We try to match the needs of the people with the resources." Surry Manor resident Golda Stuller said when you live on a fixed income, getting by day to day can be a challenge especially during the holidays, but with efforts like the Sheriff's Christmas Fund, it alleviates some of the stress.