Gifts From the Heart baskets ready for delivery
Matthew Hundley / (matthew.hundley@averyjournal.com)
Avery County cares. That is the message that Rachel Deal took
away from Avery residents’ generous response to the “Gifts From the Heart”
campaign.
Five Avery County women, Linda Hannah, Jayne McNeil, Buffy Clark, Rachel Deal and Jean Ray, work each year to assemble heart trees, which Avery residents then visit to choose a heart and prepare a care basket based on the needs listed. With help of Baxter’s, local post offices and Cannon Memorial Hospital, the five ladies assemble the completed baskets, which are then distributed by county agencies to those in need of an uplifting gift during Valentine’s. The ladies call this effort, which they have been promoting for 20 years, “Gifts From the Heart.”
The response from Avery citizens this Valentine’s season left Deal impressed and appreciative.
“We just want to thank the participants for taking the hearts and putting such love and care into each one of the baskets they made, because they put their hearts in this because they care this much,” said Deal. “It is great to have people in the county who care about other people.”
According to Deal, it is not only the number of gifts, but the quality of the donated gift baskets that make the project special and successful.
“We have over 200 gifts to be given out to people in the county,” said Deal. “It is just remarkable how they make all these beautiful baskets.”
Now that the gifts are all gathered, the next step is to return the baskets to the county agencies that suggested recipients for the baskets. The recipients’ names are known only to the agencies that recommended them. Rather than names, each heart is accompanied by a specific number, which the various county agencies use to identify the individual recipient.
Gifts From the Heart care packages should begin arriving in the homes of elderly or homebound residents in the coming weeks.
Five Avery County women, Linda Hannah, Jayne McNeil, Buffy Clark, Rachel Deal and Jean Ray, work each year to assemble heart trees, which Avery residents then visit to choose a heart and prepare a care basket based on the needs listed. With help of Baxter’s, local post offices and Cannon Memorial Hospital, the five ladies assemble the completed baskets, which are then distributed by county agencies to those in need of an uplifting gift during Valentine’s. The ladies call this effort, which they have been promoting for 20 years, “Gifts From the Heart.”
The response from Avery citizens this Valentine’s season left Deal impressed and appreciative.
“We just want to thank the participants for taking the hearts and putting such love and care into each one of the baskets they made, because they put their hearts in this because they care this much,” said Deal. “It is great to have people in the county who care about other people.”
According to Deal, it is not only the number of gifts, but the quality of the donated gift baskets that make the project special and successful.
“We have over 200 gifts to be given out to people in the county,” said Deal. “It is just remarkable how they make all these beautiful baskets.”
Now that the gifts are all gathered, the next step is to return the baskets to the county agencies that suggested recipients for the baskets. The recipients’ names are known only to the agencies that recommended them. Rather than names, each heart is accompanied by a specific number, which the various county agencies use to identify the individual recipient.
Gifts From the Heart care packages should begin arriving in the homes of elderly or homebound residents in the coming weeks.