Paris, Tenn.–The Paris-Henry County Rescue Squad brought a lot of holiday cheer to over 115 families over the Christmas weekend.
Squad Spokesperson Carol Tedford said the squad received a last minute call from the Dresden Elks Lodge which had a large amount of new bikes and toys left over from a three-county donation drive.
“We got the call at 2 p.m. on December 23 that all of it was ours if we could come and get it, which we did”, Tedford said, “so we had to hustle to get the donations out to local families that needed it.”
The donation amounted to “skids and skids” of new toys and bikes, she said. “These were hundreds and hundreds of boxes that were never opened. We opened it up to anyone who needed it and we were able to give them to over 115 families,” which included a family which lost their belongings in a fire and another family whose trailer was destroyed during the tornado that swept through Henry County. The Rescue Squad also gave out free clothing to those who needed it.
The Dresden Elks Club “took care of three counties that were hit by the tornadoes, too, and then gave us what they had left over, so they really helped a lot of people with this,” Tedford said.
“We would like to thank the Dresden Elks Lodge for donating all of it,” she said. “It did a lot of good.”
Photo: Some of the Rescue Squad members who helped with organizing the donations.