Polk County News - Breakout

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A customer is helped out to the parking lot after shopping for gifts at the Center of Hope’s Empty Stocking Program.

By Brian Besch
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An area known for its generosity has again provided for those needing help to create special memories at Christmas this year.

The Christmas of Hope Empty Stocking program aided hundreds of clients in providing gifts. Clients at Center of Hope were able to leave little ones in childcare and search for gifts with a personal shopper. They were then wrapped on site and ready for the special day. Brad Butler, youth minister at Livingston’s First Baptist Church, said there was around a month of reorganization that needed to take place to set up a new format. It would allow clients to come in and shop for their children’s Christmas presents to take ownership in the process, choosing a select number of gifts from each price range. In all, over 600 children received part of more than 5,500 toys.

“Center of Hope jumped in and agreed to take leadership of the program on Nov. 1,” Butler said. “I agreed to take the lead on that. At that point, there was an incredible number of people that jumped in and just really started hitting it hard with help. One of the first things we had to do was assign roles. We had to figure out how to make it work quickly.”

Polk County, as it always seems to be during times of need, was extremely generous with their time and money.

“This community was unbelievably generous across the board,” Butler

said. “We had Lions Club, Rotary Club, individuals, businesses and we

had neighborhoods that got together. I met a neighborhood at a store who wanted to spend $5,000 on kids. I walked the aisles of the store with them. When we were first trying to build (the program), We had the money and I would call a manager and say, ‘You know toys, get me what is on clearance and I’ll take $5,000 worth of it,’ and I wouldn’t know what we were getting.

We did that two or three times and then

when we got closer (to opening), we knew what we needed and where we

were weak. We would go and buy $10,000 worth of stuff in an hour. We

did that twice and then we had individuals come in and help.”

Discounts were arranged as much as possible for Empty Stocking and the

youth minister said there were many cases of selfless giving.

“The store manager couldn’t give us the 10% off that he was doing

anymore, so he pulled money out of his pocket and handed it to me. One

day, when we were up there on the big $10,000 thing, an employee saw

what we were doing and went to the ATM and handed me $100 and said, ‘I

know this doesn’t help much, but I want to be a part of this.’ It was

unbelievable.”

Individuals and groups found a way to lend assistance either

monetarily or through service by giftwrapping, helping shop or

babysitting for those shopping.

On multiple occasions, Butler said clients that had shopped for their

children at Center of Hope returned to give gifts for others. One

volunteered on the final three shopping days at the center, others

made gifts for other families in need to bring home. Another at one

time owned a resale shop and provided gifts for younger children after

shopping for the family’s older children.

“Next year, we will be back, and I hope we will be able to reach more

people,” Butler said. “That is the hope. It is still early in the

process, but I think we will look at how we did some things, because

we want to make sure that we do the best job that we can. We felt

pretty great about how it all rolled out.”

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From Enterprise Staff

Today’s issue of the Polk County Enterprise, as well as the Dec. 29 issue, will be special double issues because the two Sunday issues that fall on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day will be cancelled to allow our staff and carriers more time to celebrate the holidays with their families.

The two special double issues will include year-end reviews, stories, pictures, recipes, events, inserts, special new year ads, puzzles and games.

“I know I speak for our entire team when I say how grateful we are to both our owner, Alvin Holley, and our publisher, Kelli Barnes, for making this decision,” Polk County Enterprise Editor Emily Banks Wooten said. “I feel certain this break will allow our team to rest, reflect and recharge for the new year. As we usher in 2023, our goal is to continue to be your number one news and advertising source.”

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From Enterprise Staff

Habitat for Humanity of Polk County recently moved its ReStore to downtown Livingston in the old Sears building located at 321 N. Beatty Ave. The ReStore is a nonprofit home improvement store and donation center that sells new and used building materials, appliances, new and gently used furniture, and home accessories at a fraction of the retail price.

“The location has been a dream of the organization since 2020. When it became available again, we knew we had to jump at the opportunity,” Habitat’s Executive Director Amy Borel said.

The building required substantial clean up and prep work before Habitat could begin moving in. The previous tenants had left a considerable amount of garbage and the building needed to be brought up to code.

“It really took the coordinated effort of many people to get the building move-in ready. We are just so very thankful to the volunteers, local government, small businesses, the board, and our employees for putting hundreds of hours of hard manual labor into prepping the store,” Borel said.

Sheriff Bryon Lyons and Deputy Paul Cain provided hard working crews of inmates on several occasions.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to Sheriff Bryon Lyons and his crews of inmates for their help. They did a great deal of the heavy lifting and gave our volunteers and employees a break. They also did a good deal of clean up, helped strip the floors, and painted the inside of the building,” Borel said.

Work on the building has included stripping the floors, fresh interior paint, updated electrical, new ceiling tiles, and general clean up. The ReStore staff and the Board of Directors hope the new location, along with the updates, will encourage more people to visit the store to shop and donate. Donations from the store support the Habitat mission while also diverting reusable materials from landfills. Local donations are vital to the success of the organization.

“COVID negatively impacted our organization as well. We’ve spent the better part of the last two years trying to recover. The new location will hopefully make more people aware of our organization and will remember Habitat for Humanity when they are looking to donate gently used items,” Borel said.

Habitat for Humanity of Polk County is the local affiliate for Habitat for Humanity International and builds homes for hard-working low-income families who are unable to qualify for traditional mortgages. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage.

Habitat for Humanity of Polk County is funded through local donations to the ReStore and volunteer efforts. To shop, donate, or volunteer, visit www.habitatpolkcounty.org or call the ReStore at 936-328-8529.

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From Enterprise Staff

The Thursday, Dec. 22 and Thursday, Dec. 29 issues of the Polk County Enterprise will be special double issues because the two Sunday issues that fall on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day will be cancelled to allow our staff and carriers more time to celebrate the holidays with their families.

The two special double issues will include year-end reviews, stories, pictures, recipes, events, inserts, special new year ads, puzzles and games.

“I know I speak for our entire team when I say how grateful we are to both our owner, Alvin Holley, and our publisher, Kelli Barnes, for making this decision,” Polk County Enterprise Editor Emily Banks Wooten said.