Will Distribute Gifts To Hurricane Victims
It looks like Rudolph
will be putting his bright nose -- and his IFR rating -- to good
use Saturday, as Angel Flight Southeast will deliver gifts
collected from across the country to the town of D'Iberville, MS --
where thousands of people remain in tents and trailers due to the
devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.
More than 3,000 children will receive gifts delivered by Santa
Claus and his helpers, who will be flying in on a special Angel
Flight America mission flown by Angel Flight Southeast pilot Dan
Calugar.
"We are so very happy to assist the folks of D'Iberville in
ensuring that the thousands of now-underprivileged children get the
holiday that they deserve," said Sheri Hutchinson, Director of
Operations of Angel Flight Southeast, one of six geographic regions
in the Angel Flight America network. "Having Santa and his helpers
fly in to assist with gift giving, we hope, will spur even more
giving among people in the Southeast who might not be aware of this
tragic story."
Hutchinson told ANN the
gifts have been collected and sent from thousands of miles away
from businesses and citizens from Citrus Heights, CA as part of a
daylong celebration of "the joy of holiday giving." The gifts were
driven across country by the Mayflower moving company.
Also assisting from the start of this special mission
approximately three months ago is Liz Krohn of the Sunrise
Marketplace, a special business district in Citrus Heights of more
than 500 shops and companies that brought together most of the
special holiday gift items. "We had a 2,000-foot Mayflower
transport bring in 50 bikes and helmets, several thousand gift
cards -- everything from power tools to pet food -- to help an area
that we think has been somewhat neglected in the post-Katrina
relief efforts," Ms. Krohn said.
The Angel Flight Southeast flight delivering Santa and his
helpers will originate from Asheville, NC. Additional volunteers
from California, Indiana, North Carolina, Alabama and locally from
organizations such as the local air force base and ROTC will assist
in giving out the gifts.
"The people of
D'Iberville have truly been blessed by thousands of people who've
assisted our somewhat neglected town, to ensure that this
population of 8,000 people gets the attention that they deserve,"
said Brenda Broussard, a D'Iberville town council woman who saw
approximately 90 percent of her district destroyed by the
hurricane.