This past holiday season a large number of North Alabama families enjoyed a more blessed holiday due to the efforts of Alabama Site employees. There were many efforts from individual employees as well as a number of Local 2195 committees working to make certain that needy families received a visit from that jolly old elf.

The Local 2195 Recreation Committee sold chances on a $1,000 gift card to Lowes. This effort raised $4,000 that supported needy families and provided care packages for family members of site employees who are deployed away from home in the military. “We sent 16 boxes to members of the military that are related to our employees on,” states Recreation Committee Chair Rochelle Mitchell. “We received work back from a number of them that they appreciated the gift. Lemuel Howell of Dept. 21 Plant 23 has a son and daughter in the military. Lemuel said they really appreciated their boxes. Also Fred Motes of Dept. 81 Plant 23 stated that his nephew was home from Iraq, but he sent the box on to the people he had been serving with and they enjoyed it.”

Steve Glenn of Dept. 12 Plant 21 was the lucky winner of the Lowes certificate. Vickie Sales of Plant 23 drew the winning ticket for the Recreation Committee. In addition to the military boxes, 20 needy families were also supported through the effort with groceries and gifts. The Recreation Committee purchased the food from Southern Family Market in Moulton and received a discount from the store to help spread the benefit a little further. With the remaining funds, the Recreation Committee supported 44 children of IAM members who are on strike at Boeing for Christmas. Your donations allowed these children to have a better holiday season.

The Local 2195 Community Service Committee sponsored an “Iron Bowl Party” at the Union Hall as a fundraiser for Christmas charities. This effort raised another $2,000 that supported needy families during the holiday season. Members of the committee also assisted the Salvation Army in packaging their collections for families during the holidays. Local 2195 and Delphi worked together to allow a number of the committee members to be available during the time. In addition, some of the committee members were involved in the temporary layoff just prior to the Christmas break. These members volunteered their time to go down and assist in the effort. “We want to thank the joint parties for allowing us the time to assist the Salvation Army during the holiday season,” states Community Service Committee Chair Shirley Parker. “Over 800 children from Morgan and Lawrence Counties were supported through the Salvation Army efforts and we were proud to take part in it.”

The Local 2195 Women’s Committee once again sponsored Toy Trees in the plants, with the donations going to the Organization For Church Cooperation and FACES (Families and Children Experiencing Separation). The committee collected a large number of toys that were distributed to the mentioned charities.

Donations are an important part of providing assistance to those in need, but giving of your time is also important. During the holiday season the Alabama Site had a number of members who worked on other community service projects through the Volunteer Center of Morgan County. UAW-Delphi employees worked at the Volunteer Center on a variety of holiday projects, delivered Meals on Wheels and helped out at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in Morgan and Limestone County. “We so appreciate the help we received from the volunteers from UAW-Delphi,” states Volunteer Center Director Mary Kay Braddock. “We had the Can-a-thon, Holiday Hope Chest and Christmas Teen programs going on. Our staff is very small, so having the extra help was a huge boost. The people jumped in and helped bring all our projects together. I can’t thank Delphi and UAW Local 2195 enough for the help we received.”

Randy Williams, Allen Valkoun and Frank McNair all worked at Meals on Wheels, helping deliver a daily meal at lunch to elderly citizens of Morgan County. “Participating in the Meals on Wheels project was an eye opening experience,” Frank McNair states. “Each day we would help put the meals together and then rode with the drivers to deliver 350 meals. The Meals on Wheels volunteers are sometimes the only people some of the recipients see all day. So, you learn very fast the service of more than just food. Sometimes just having someone to talk with a few minutes is as important as the meal.”

“There are many people in this area that could use help and you see it when you are out delivering these meals,” Randy Williams adds. “I am glad to be able to help.”

Joseph Ward and Steve Miller worked at the Volunteer Center and helped out with the Can-a-thon project, Holiday Hope Chest and Christmas Teen programs. Their days were spent collecting food donations from area high schools. “There were 30,000 cans of food donated to the project that had to be picked up, organized and prepared for distribution,” Joesph states. “It was really good to see so much help being provided to people. Sometimes we don’t realize just how many people out there need help. The need is really great, but thankfully the community rises to the occasion. The schools would collect the food and we would pick it up. The children were very excited about brining in the canned goods. The Volunteer Center does a lot of good. Mrs. Braddock juggles a number of projects at a time and it was great to work with her.”

Additionally, Danny Cunningham worked at the Salvation Army Thrift store in Decatur and Wayne Humphrey worked at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in Athens. Their efforts were coordinated through the Volunteer Center as well.

These are uncertain times for everyone. However, this didn’t affect the generosity of Alabama Site employees this holiday season. You still dug deep and helped others and for that each and every person here should be proud. Traveling the path of heart as oppose to the path of convenience is never easy, but always worthwhile in the end. We should never forget our responsibility to those in need.