Thanks to generous donations from people across the community and Sharon Volunteer Fire & Rescue, over 20 children were able to shop and receive Christmas gifts alongside firefighters Saturday morning at Laurel Wal-Mart.

“We ended up with 21 kids today and they each got $200 to spend. They are from around the Sharon and Shady Grove communities. A lot of them have come from North Jones Elementary,” said Kelly Parker Andrews, the Event Coordinator. “We have a family of three whose home caught on fire this past Thursday, and it was a total loss for them, so they are some of the ones included. We have one that their mother who was 26-years-old passed away last Friday due to complications from having a newborn baby. We have a group of six whose mom is extremely sick. So they are with us too.”

The children were treated to a Hummer limousine ride that was donated by Ralph Cahill. The children and firefighters left from the Sharon Volunteer Department location to Laurel Wal-Mart. They were escorted by fire trucks from the fire department and a Jones County Sheriff’s Department cruiser.

The department started out with six children in mind. But thanks to the generous donations of the following persons and businesses, they were able to more than triple that number.

“This year, we were able to get in touch with the counselor of the school [NJE]. She knew home situations. We knew about the house that had caught fire and Powers, M&M, and Rustin VFD responded to them. Because of that, we knew their situation and we wanted to help them. They had no family, it was just their mom, dad, two sisters, and a brother. The children were primarily selected by the school counselor and teachers who knew of needs, though,” said Andrews.

Precision Quick Lube, Reliable Roofing, Ben Lily Rentals, Hellfighters, Sleepy Sam’s Mattress, Chick-Fil-A, Brandon Alt with H&B Services, Pam Ringler, Skippers Towing and Recovery, Busy Bee Brakes & Alignment, Jones County Glass, McMurry Pest Control, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, and Tony Welch who played Santa for the children all participated in helping with monetary donations and volunteering, per Andrews.

“We had a huge list of people who helped make this happen. We also did two food drives. We did things as a department and then we got donations from businesses and people who reached out personally to help,” explained Andrews.

After leaving Wal-Mart, the children boarded the Hummer one more time and got lunch at Chick-Fil-A on 16th Avenue which was provided by owner Brittany Pickering.

Members of the Sharon Volunteer Fire Department said that they were overwhelmed by the support received for this event and would like to thank each and every person and business for the donations which made this event possible and allowed them to make so many children’s day.