Each week, City Manager Tom Aspell purchases dozens of cases of champagne and spells out a city memo using only the corks. This week was no exception.
'twas the season
Generous gifts given
The Human Services Department received an incredibly generous outpouring of donations so that the families it serves could have a wonderful Christmas, Aspell writes.
Thanks go to Sanel Auto Parts, which provided toys and gift cards that will help 20 children; the Unitarian Universalist Church, which helped with 14 teenagers; the Beaver Meadow Village Association, for its very large donation of toys and clothing; a Secret Santa and his brothers, who donated money in memory of their mother, which helped out eight boys; Roger Mulligan, who kindly donated money; the Parks and Recreation Department's Senior Program, which donated food and toys; Paul Garland of the Parking Division, who generously donated toys; and Mary Hinchey and the Capital Quilters Guild, who donated beautiful handmade quilts.
We also have a local resident, who once was the recipient of help, who comes in each year with a toy and clothing donation to pay it forward. In addition to those named above, there are others who sponsor families. We want to thank the Local Government Center employees who sponsored four families with a total of 10 children; the Legal Advice and Referral Center; New Futures; retired city employee Jean Clark; City Councilor Jan McClure; Maria VanderWoude; and the Sunset Club. We also had incredible support from our co-workers in other city departments who sponsored families. Our deep appreciation goes to the city clerk's office; the Human Resources Department; collections; Guy Newbery and the Fire Officers Relief Association, Local 3195; John and Carrie Duval; Doug Ross and family; Karen MacGregor and the Finance Department employees; Hope Hundley and the General Services Department employees; and Sue and Jay Golden.
It does not stop here. Ed Mullen of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church recently delivered a large donation of diapers, wipes and food. His two grandsons, Riley and Tim, proudly helped to unload the van. Last, but not least, our fellow city employees stepped up once again and collected food for the department. Library employee Sandi Lee organizes this project each year and, with the help of many others throughout the city, restocks our pantry shelves. Additionally, Deb Marcotte of the fire department collected money from fire department employees to purchase and donate toiletries.
