Rotary Club plans toy drive

Published 12:01 am Friday, November 25, 2016

Well, Thanksgiving 2016 is in the books, and we hope you had a blessed holiday. Did you enjoy it at home or were you one of the 48.7 million people that motor group AAA estimated would travel 50 miles or more for this holiday? That number may seem massive (especially if you are on congested roads this weekend) but it pales in comparison to the number of shoppers expected to hit the stores or shop online starting today and continuing this “Black Friday” weekend: 137.4 million!

For those who are not familiar with the term Black Friday (as it applies in the retail sense), according to the website BlackFriday.com: “Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving, and it’s one of the major shopping days of the year in the United States — falling anywhere between Nov. 23 and 29. While it’s not recognized as an official U.S. holiday, many employees have the day off — except those working in retail.

“The term ‘Black Friday’ was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. ‘Black’ refers to stores moving from the ‘red’ to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand and red ink indicated a loss and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season.

“In the 1960s, police in Philadelphia griped about the congested streets, clogged with motorists and pedestrians, calling it ‘Black Friday.’ In a non-retail sense, it also describes a financial crisis of 1869: a stock market catastrophe set off by gold spectators who tried and failed to corner the gold market, causing the market to collapse and stocks to plummet.”

Some people relish the thrill of heading out early on Black Friday to snatch up good deals. Others would not dare fighting for parking spots at the mall or waiting in long lines to save a few dollars on a Tickle Me Elmo doll. But whichever camp you are in (we are in the latter) we hope when you do your holiday shopping you remember the less fortunate.

We had lunch the other day with a friend who we got to know when Werner was a member of the Rotary Club of Carpet City, Jackie Killings. Killings, whose “day job” is in research and development at Mohawk Industries, is the president of the aforementioned Rotary Club.

When asked what was new with the club, she mentioned its members were busy with the club’s annual toy drive. The club annually collects toys this time of year that are given out at the Providence Ministries gathering and meal on Christmas morning. She said last year the club collected more than 300 gifts for this event. Dalton Funeral Home is the collection site for the Rotary Club of Carpet City toy drive. Its address is 620 S. Glenwood Ave., near East Walnut Avenue. Gifts are to be new and unwrapped and will be collected through Dec. 24, when they will be taken to Providence Ministries for Christmas morning.

Last year’s Christmas gathering and meal at Providence Ministries in Dalton was attended by more than 3,000 people, including more than 1,200 children who each got to pick and take home three toys. This event has been going on for 21 years. Several hundred volunteers are needed to help with the event. If you are interested in volunteering please call Providence Ministries at (706) 275-0268.

There are many toy drives going on this time of year. Although a toy is not the “reason for the season,” we hope you will find it in your heart to donate to one and make a child’s Christmas a bit brighter. God bless!