POWELL, Tenn. -- Some 175 underprivileged children in the Powell, Tenn., area were treated earlier this week to a day of shopping, lunch and a party with Santa thanks to Weigel's Inc.
The magic began with the children and their volunteers and chaperones boarding buses to be whisked away to K-Mart. Each child went shopping for gifts of his or her choosing.
Following the shopping spree, the children and chaperones were bused back to the Salvation Army headquarters to enjoy lunch and a party with Santa in a festive atmosphere provided [image-nocss] by vendors and sponsors of the Weigel's Family Christmas program.
Weigel's operates nearly 50 Weigel's Farm Stores dairy and convenience stores, all within a 50-mile radius of corporate headquarters in Powell, Tenn.
Meanwhile, Tom Gresham, chairman of Greenville, Miss.-based Gresham Petroleum Co., and the employees of its Double Quick convenience store chain, surprised officials of the area Salvation Army on Monday with bags loaded with toys for the agency's Angel Tree program, reported The Delta Democrat Times.
Gresham said employees of Double Quick each year donate toys for less fortunate young people through local charities. "It's something we do every year. It's just the Salvation Army's turn this year," Gresham said. "We've been doing this at Christmas time for a number of years."
In addition to the gifts donated to the local Salvation Army, the Double Quick also Monday donated gifts to foster children in Lake Village, Ark.
And Fairburn, Ga.-based Geo. H. Green Oil Inc. has raised $30,000 to assist three area charities and the Juvenile Diabetes Research fund. Starting Thanksgiving Day, five stores have raised more than $1,000 a day to pass their $25,000 goal.
"Through the outstanding efforts of the Greenway Stores' office employees, and with exceptional vendor and customer support, some 1,400 underprivileged children will wake up Christmas morning having been visited by Santa and Atlanta's Empty Stocking organization," said Jim Callahan, Green Oil's marketing director.
The Welcome House women's shelter and the In His Great Name Ministry also benefited, he said.
"While this was a team effort, every team has a leader, and our Fairburn Family travel Center and its magnificent employees paved the road to success by raising approximately 50% of the grand total," added Callahan.
Green Oil is a distributor of BP, Chevron and Shell products in and around Atlanta.
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