For more than a month, Blessings of Hope Empowerment Outreach has held a drive to collect fans to help senior citizens in Gadsden County stay cool this summer.
The drive ended with a distribution event held at the Hazel J. Baker Community Center in downtown Havana on Saturday, May 27.
The event was scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., but the Blessings of Hope staff got an early start, and all fans were distributed by the time the Havana Herald arrived to cover the event, though they were still giving out food to any seniors who showed up.
“We did good,” said Blessings of Hope President Anissa Butler. “We raised $780, and we had over 30 fans that we gave out, and we’re going to give some out to members of the community in need that couldn’t come today, and we are also providing a hot meal. We have fried chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, bread, and cake for dessert.”
The meal was provided by the Blessings of Hope staff from their own pockets.
Following is a list of donors and organizations who contributed to the event: Kendrah Wilkerson, Town Manager, Janice Hart, Mayor, Nick Bert, Mayor Pro-Tem, Tim Loughmiller, Councilman, Eddie Bass, Councilman, Dwight L. Vickers, Councilman, Jennifer Stone, Councilman, Chief Tracy Smith, Havana Police Department, Kerri Jackson, Quality Discount Meats, Quincy, Henry “Red” Cannon, Quincy, Anna Marie Hartman & Bradley J. Hartman, Debra Salters, New Hope Christian Center, Havana, Dixie Paving, Midway, Lowe’s Home Improvement N.W. Tallahassee, Lowe’s Home Improvement N.E. Tallahassee, The Havana Herald, The Gadsden County Times, WTXL 27, Maybelline Somoza, Carolyn Smith, Meshanda Hobley, Sheri Eades, Ida Moore, Querida Silas, Betty Hudson, Linda Reed, Phyllis Thomas, Charles Pyle, Doug Pyle, Tywanna Swain, Theodore Swain, Jennifer Whitley, Kimmy Hogan, Susan Huss, Mark Yeadall, Victoria Shivilie, and Michael Lee.
“Thank you to everybody, our second annual fan drive was a huge success. We reached out to a lot of seniors, fed them, and it was just great all around. We hope to do it again next year.”
Stephen Klein
