Chamber ‘wraps up’ the holiday season
Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 24, 2004
If you participated in the Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s recent holiday gift-wrapping service, you got two good deeds in one.
Not only did they wrap gifts purchased from local merchants free of charge, they also collected donations for the Department of Human Resources’ Children’s Fund.
&uot;We collected $150.91 from our gift &uot;wrappees&uot; for the Fund,&uot; Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Carol Lee said. &uot;We didn’t solicit donations, but had donation containers out in the gift-wrapping area to accommodate those who wanted to give something.&uot;
Greenville DHR’s Patient’s Assistance Program Coordinator Roslyn Cook accepted the check from Lee.
&uot;We are always thankful for help from the community,&uot; Cook said. &uot;I want to thank the Chamber for assisting the Fund during their wrapping program. Its help is truly appreciated.&uot;
Now the wrapping paper is gone, the ribbons and bows are boxed up for storage and the Chamber of Commerce crew is back to business as usual at The Depot.
At the same time she heaves a sigh of relief that it’s all over, Lee is, in the back of her mind, planning to do it all over again.
Lee said that this year’s gift-wrapping program, called &uot;All Wrapped Up in the Spirit of Christmas,&uot; was a resounding success.
&uot;We had a terrific response,&uot; Lee said. &uot;We will definitely do this again.&uot;
The chamber director felt everything went smoothly, and said they received only a few complaints.
&uot;There are a few things we would like to work on for next time, such as a better coordination of our volunteer wrappers,&uot; Lee said. &uot;We had a few spots in the scheduling where we were short on wrappers, but nothing major.&uot;
She said the Chamber volunteers wrapped 1,281 gifts during the three weeks the wrapping service was offered.
&uot;We wrapped purchases valued at more than $18,000 from 38 area stores. We consider it a success.&uot;
Here is the final breakdown of gifts wrapped from area merchants:
Store Name# of gifts$ Value
WalMart5317,575
Goody’s 2503,752
WestPoint Stevens541,177.50
Fred’s68747
Moore’s39693
Factory Connection32542
Dollar General122445.50
Mr. Style11442
Greenville Equipment1410
Cato19324
McFerrins Jewelry3255
Burke’s Outlet30243
Family Dollar36237
Cash & Carry3156
Walker8120
CVS17119.50
Two Boutiques1115
Butler Farmer’s Co-op283
Championship Trophy374
Cracker Barrel367
McLendon Medical164
Stabler’s Gift Shop255
NY Fashions346
Thomas Sanderson145
Radio Shack241
Hot Waxx228
Janice’s 124
Fine Arts League320
Butler Services120
Badcock Home Furnishings120
Dollar Tree1919
Young’s Fashion316
Winn Dixie110
Super Foods310
Greenville Hardware110
Betty’s Past and Present210
MainStreet Movies15
Chevron15
Lee also extended her gratitude for the supplies that were donated by several area merchants, including Dollar Tree, Fred’s, Super Foods, WalMart, Jackson Thornton, & Co. PC, Walker Business Machines and Winn Dixie.
These businesses donated wrapping paper, bows, boxes and tape for the chamber volunteers to use.
&uot;I would also like to thank our volunteers,&uot; Lee said. &uot;They were invaluable in making this whole effort a success. They donated their time to help out with wrapping and serving refreshments, and I really appreciated each one of them.&uot;
The volunteers were Nancy Branum, Jennifer Burkett, Jean Katz, Magoo Hamilton, Lee Pelfrey, Savannah Stacy, Diane Kilpatrick, Al & Bryce Landwehr, Teresa Stevens, Tabitha Gafford, Farren Butts, Petey Cureton, Dennis Palmer, Rose Lecoq, Mack Russell, Shae Hartman, Steve & Alice McGee, Eric Fennell, Susan Rhodes, Bryan Reynolds, Mallory Lee, Debra Atwell, David Scott, Christopher Slagley, Ann Steiner Gregory, Tonya Halford, Kimberly Johnson, Kana Jones, Amanda Foshee, Daryll & Jherri Luckie, Cile Martin, Joyce Peavy, Brittany Williams, Linda Horn, Jessica Poff, Dr. Bob Martin & staff, Elisa Campbell, Phillip, Joyce & Kellie Murphy, Carolyn Graham, Danolyn Poole, Lorraine McLaney and Lucy Foster