Trash bags bulging with presents lined the floor of Good Shepherd Community Center Thursday, all patiently waiting to be picked up by parents hoping to make Christmas more enjoyable for their children.
More than 75 businesses, churches and community members donated thousands of toys to Good Shepherd this holiday season to benefit families who otherwise could not afford gifts for their children. Those toys were then distributed from the community center to the smiling faces of parents across Warren County.
“It’s just been really great, all the help that our community has given us the support that we find,” Good Shepherd director Tommy Miller said. “We’ll do 450 kids, the Salvation Army has probably done over 500, so over 1,000 kids will be helped because of our community efforts and that’s fantastic.”
Volunteers helped load up presents and even pick out specific toys for parents who questioned what their kids might want.
“I go to the table to help put a bag together and (a recipient) said, ‘Well, I don’t know what my son wants,’” Rev. Ronald Conner said. “I said well, I can put myself in that position and I know what he wants.”
Conner, the pastor at St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church, has been volunteering at Good Shepherd for four years and said he was thankful and humbled by the opportunity to serve the community.
“I feel great joy in this right here. It just makes the rest better, doing Good Samaritan work from your heart. It’s something that I always do and I look forward to doing it,” Conner said. “Last year I had just had knee surgery, and even though the surgery I had I wasn’t supposed to be on my knee, I was still down here because I really enjoy helping the people.”
Cheryl Roland is a guest service specialist at Ameristar. Her and a team of co-workers bustled about inside the community center in matching red “Ameristar Cares” shirts volunteering with Good Shepherd.
“I think it takes it back to the true meaning (of Christmas),” Roland said. “The true meaning is giving back, and giving back to the community is where we need to come as one as a team to make our less fortunate feel loved and feel needed.”
Miller expects every toy to be distributed by Friday afternoon and continually voiced his appreciation for the community’s involvement in improving the lives of hundreds of Warren County children.
“I jokingly say for about three days I’m Walmart East in Vicksburg. We couldn’t do it without all our volunteers and the generosity of our community,” he said. “The community has always been great for us and we appreciate everything that we can do. As partners in our community, we couldn’t do it without them.”