Empty Stocking Fund helps more than just children
Home! What does the word “home” mean to you? We asked Susan, who recently moved into The Salvation Army’s Catherine Booth Garden Apartments in Gastonia. Her response, “Home is where love, God and I live.”
Susan continues, “Everyone here is friendly and greets me with a smile, along with ‘how are you today?’ Bingo is definitely a hit. The staff treats us with sincerity and respect. They know our name and care about our individual welfare. With every penny being spent during the month, living here is very economical. I am grateful that this is a God-centered place, where I can feel at home, safe, secure and where the Spirit can reside.”
Each year, donors to The Gazette Empty Stocking Fund make it possible for the Salvation Army to provide a brighter Christmas to residents living in the Catherine Booth Gardens Apartments and other seniors in our community.
Completed in 2005, the Catherine Booth Garden Apartments, which sit next to the Salvation Army Worship Center on Union Road, include 82 units, all handicapped accessible and designed with an eye for the needs of seniors
While many people think about The Gazette Empty Stocking Fund helping families with children, money from the annual campaign also helps maintain programs like the Catherine Booth Garden Apartments. Throughout the year the Salvation Army supports seniors with small gifts, needed toiletries, utility support and weekly activities like lunches, bingo, shopping trips and fitness activities.
"The goal for our residents is to be able to live as independently as long as they safely can," said Dana Rose, the six-year director of senior housing at the Salvation Army-owned apartments on Union Road in Gastonia.
"A lot of our residents are living on tight budgets," said Rose. "Some still need assistance with utilities and groceries and the Empty Stocking Fund can help them. And it enables us to provide activities."
Here’s where you come in: Money raised during the Christmas season helps sustain The Salvation Army throughout the entire year. What is raised at Christmas is what is used for support for the entire year.
Due to the ongoing restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Gazette will no longer serve as a drop-off point for contributions.
Donations are to be made by check to The Salvation Army with the memo line noted as “Empty Stocking Fund.” Mail contributions should be sent to The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 1094, Gastonia, NC 28053.
The Gazette will provide regular updates on the campaign as it progresses. The goal is $100,000 and the total to date is below.
Recent donors
$100 by Patricia Long
$25 in memory of B.P. Albright, M.D., by a friend.
$100 in memory of N. Lindsey & Margaret Gibson by Michael Gibson
$100.00 in honor of Paul Dellinger and in honor of Nancy Dellinger, by Santa Claus
$100 in memory of Angela Kay Rhyne, from Mom and Dad, Pat and Eddie
$100 in memory of Frankie and Dale, from anonymous
$100 in memory of my parents, Johnnie and Kathryn Hargett, from Julie Bishko
$25 by Vera Floyd
$ 25 by Bobby Floyd
$50 in honor of Andrew & Macon, by Algie Brice Warren
$50 by Melissa Slaughter
$871 by Watson Insurance employees
$500 by Watson Insurance Agency
$50 in memory of my husband, Robert L. Crickmore, by Irene Crickmore
$100 in memory of David Rhinehart, by the Lanier Family
$1,000 Merry Christmas! From Neil and Em Styers
$100 in memory of Thomas R. Matherlee II (Tommy) by his father Brent Matherlee and grandparents Thomas R. and Charlotte Matherlee
$100 in loving memory of B.P. and Ruby Tutterow, by Susan and Annette
$100 in memory of Madge Rozzell, by Mary Selden
$100 in memory of Cathy Rucker, by Mary Selden
$100 in honor of the staff at First United Methodist Church, Gastonia
$80 in honor of Larry and Diane Brannock, by Michael and Jason Brannock
$100 in honor of our grandchildren, Lillian, Graham and Harper, by Mr. an Mrs. James M. Craig
$50 in memory of Brenda, by Dianah Minges
$30 in loving memory of our son, Joey Anthony Faile, by his parents who miss him, Donna & Toney McCuen
$2,500 by the First Gaston Community Fund
$2,500 by the John and Malinda Lowery Fund
$250 in honor of Les Davis and the FUMC Salvation Army Breakfast Teams
$100 by Wanda Randolph
$150 in loving memory of all our loved ones in Heaven, by Leonard and Stephanie Morgan
$60 in memory of Carol Lewis, from Denise, Linda, Lisa and Karen
$200 in memory of Cecil Anderson from his family, Linda, Kim and Ryan Anderson
$25 in memory of Barry McCoig, by Bill and Loretta Dodgen
$100.00 in memory of our precious Gina, who will live in our hears forever, by Larry and Brenda Trantham
$50 in memory of our Granddaddy, by Grace Stroupe and Ben Jordan
$50 in memory of our Uncle Stephen Jones, by Grace Stroupe and Ben Jordan
$50 in memory of Dick and Jackie (Ballard) Fisher, by Selina and Dennis Lee
$50 in memory of Joel L. Greene, by Selina and Dennis Lee and Karen and Ralph Rhyne
$500 in memory of Jerry and Dot Lee, by the employees of W.D. Lee & Co. Inc.
$50 in memory of Mildred Furr, by anonymous
$50 in honor of Brandon and Erin Beck, by anonymous
$1,0000 in honor of Jim Stewart, by Dan and Katherine Ratchford
$100 by anonymous
$50 by anonymous
$300 in honor of city of Gastonia Staff: Michael Peoples, Ash Smith, Melody Braddy, Quentin McPhatter, Adrian Miller and Charles Graham. Thank you, by Mayor Pro Tem David Kirlin, city of Gastonia
$100 from the Study Club of Gastonia, which began in 1911. Merry Christmas!
$ 64,416 of $100,000 goal is the total of the Empty Stocking Fund to date.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County Empty Stocking Fund helps more than children
