Thumbs Up! Jan. 5, 2015

So many people stepped up to make the Christmas of 2014 a memorable one for families all over Southwest Georgia, it simply is not possible to tell all the good news surrounding the season. Here are just a few of those stories.

By way of local law enforcement personnel, backed by businesses and individuals, “Shop with a Cop” and “Shop with a Sheriff” once again allowed children to choose gifts for themselves as well as members of their families. As in years past, Kmart welcomed officers to stroll the aisles of the store with eager children looking for just the right items to put first in the carts and later under trees all over town. In addition to the dolls and trucks, balls and watches, children were given an opportunity to see a different side of the people in uniform that work every day to keep the community a safe place to live. Until such a one-on-one experience, many children never think of the officers as friends. In their neighborhoods, law enforcement agents are more often associated with drugs and violence. From the comments of the officers to the smiles of the faces, it is safe to say, “and a good time was had by all.”

Members of Hines Memorial CME Church’s “Warmer through Fellowship” ministry took time out our their busy schedules to make sure the sick and shut-ins of the congregation knew they were not forgotten. One stop made by the group was at the home of 92-year-old Thelma Lemon. The visit included the delivery of a Christmas dinner, large enough to feed 10 people, and the singing of carols and hymns. This is not the first time this church and its ministries have been mentioned in this column and will likely not be the last.

For a 10th consecutive year, the Albany State University chapter of Sigma Pi Phi fraternity donated coats to the Salvation Army. This was no small gift as the coats numbered 50 and were all brand new. Chief Kelly English accepted the coats, a donation that is much needed in our community. Thank you for your service and thoughtfulness.

Joe Farris, aka Santa Joe, has now made his 104th trip to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. The children in the hospital there are sick, very sick. Their stays are not for a couple of days but sometimes months. Sometimes, they never return home. Regardless of the severity of the illness, the cost of treatment and the length of hospitalization, no bills are ever sent, not one since the hospital opened in 1962. And so, for the 35th year, the lower campus of Deerfield-Windsor School gathered just before the holiday to sing songs and visit with Santa Joe as donations poured in for his ‘sleigh.’ Children brought toys, lots and lots of them, and cash donations topped $3,000, allowing for at least one more merry Christmas.

Ryan Adams of Bainbridge is a sophomore in high school now. At the young age of 9, Adams began selling hot chocolate one day a year near Christmas to raise money simply because he wanted to help people. The sale has become a tradition in the town and includes the help of friends and family members, as well as local businesses. A true Secret Santa, the donations are given to residents having difficulties, through no fault of their own, anonymously. While not named, Adams did know that one family with a child receiving treatments for leukemia in Atlanta would be given gift cards for gas. And that, readers, is the true spirit of Christmas.

— The Albany Herald Editorial Board