Pubdate: Thu, 11 Dec 2003
Source: Mountain Times, The (NC)
Copyright: 2003 The Mountain Times.
Contact: P.O. Box 1815, Boone, NC 28607
Website: http://www.mountaintimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1699
Author: Kathleen McFadden
Note: Does not accept  LTEs via email or feedback form.  All LTEs must be
mailed.

COUNTY RESPONDS TO CHILDREN DISPOSSESSED BY METH

Just in time for the feel-good holiday season, residents of Watauga
County have helped create a local heart-warming story that rivals
Dickens' well-known Christmas tale. Project Holiday Elf, sponsored by
High Country Honda, will help make this Christmas special for a unique
group of 17 dispossessed children in the county - children who have
been discovered living in homes where methamphetamine was produced.

Because the byproducts of methamphetamine production are so toxic,
child protection workers at the Division of Social Services, in
conjunction with members of the county's methamphetamine task force,
decided early on for safety's sake that any children exposed to such a
hazard would be required to leave all their clothes, toys and special
belongings behind. The 17 affected children - ranging in age from 4
months to 15 years - have lost all of their familiar and loved
objects, in addition to their homes and, in many cases, their parents.

When employees of High Country Honda expressed the desire to
participate in some type of county-focused charitable benefit this
season, that desire evolved into the idea for Project Holiday Elf - an
effort to give those grieving children gifts of new clothes and new
toys. Following the project kickoff on November 15, gifts have been
flooding into the dealership, sometimes by the pickup load. The
collection period ends on Monday, December 15, after which the gifts
will be delivered to Child Protective Services for
distribution.

High Country Honda's Kaye Warren commented, "I'm going to stop saying
I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of the people in the county because
we know how generous local people are," but she adds that "Watauga
County has been much more than generous."

Warren talks about the woman who contributed a hand-knitted sweater,
High Country Honda employees who have significantly added to the gift
piles, families who have stopped by with shopping bags full of items
and the several local businesses that have pitched in to help,
including Grandfather Mountain, Mast General Store, Grapevine, First
Things First, Psychotherapeutic, Inc. and Dollar Tree. Several local
residents have opted to contribute money to Project Holiday Elf, and
Dealer-Manager Steve Warren has committed to match the total amount of
the collections with a check from the dealership.

With just a few days remaining for donations, Warren says that anyone
who would like to participate can help most by providing unisex
clothing (such as fleece separates, sweaters and other
non-gender-specific items) and gifts for older children in the 10- to
15-year-old age range, or alternatively by making a cash donation.
Warren says that most of the clothing donated has been for younger
kids and that High Country Honda staffers will use some of the
monetary contributions to fill in the gaps for the older children.

"It has been a wonderful, wonderful effort for the first year," Warren
says, "and we're already talking about how to do it better next year."

For information about the last-minute needs of Project Holiday Elf,
call High Country Honda at (828) 264-6006.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin