Drop Box open thru Dec. 23
Melissa Little has a heart for the homeless — especially this time of year.
A social media post she made, musing about Farragut’s Christmas Lights, quickly morphed into a plan to have those less fortunate share in the joy of the season, too.
“I love Christmas, and I love the Christmas lights. It just made me think of our homeless and maybe what we could do for them,” she said. “I have looked at the statistics, and at any given time, Knox County has about 1,200 homeless.
“Some people seem to look down on them, but I think they deserve the same respect as anyone else, and I just was thinking of a way to offer them a little hope.”
Little mentioned collecting and presenting Christmas cards.
“I just wanted them to have something nice to open on Christmas,” she added.
Joe LaCroix, Town Information Technology director, offered to see if a central location could be placed at Town Hall — a request which was granted earlier this month.
Little brought a festively-wrapped empty box to place in the glassed-in information portion of Town Hall’s lobby, where area residents can drop Christmas cards, or even socks and gloves which Little, her husband, Steven, and daughter, Katie Campbell, will distribute Christmas Day.
Little notes most of Knoxville’s homeless live near Knox Area Rescue Ministries, and along other Downtown areas, including Broadway Avenue.
The collection box is available at Town Hall during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
“We will be making the final collection Dec. 23, then we will go down in my husband’s truck and sit in the back and hand out the cards, water and anything else we are able to collect,” Little said.
Anyone wishing to contact Little directly may e-mail her at melissalittle19@gmail.com.
