SAVANNAH, GA (December 21, 2012): Police Chief Willie Lovett’s staff played the role of elves Thursday when a grandmother with eight children and no funds called for help.
Lovett’s adjutant Lt. Deborah Robinson and administrative assistant Kimberly McBurney delivered a car half-full of specially wrapped gifts to the grandmother and her family Thursday morning.
The mission was an unusual one for the two women and the rest of the chief’s office staff.
“We get a lot of calls for help in the Christmas season, but this one touched us,” McBurney said. “Here was a grandmother with eight children to care for ranging from three weeks to 20 years, one with special needs, and she had no place to turn.”
Staffers first referred the grandmother to various agencies but decided to step in when it became apparent no help was coming. A call to Greenbrier Children’s Center provided the gifts and the women and their co-workers provided the wrapping. Lt. Robinson’s city car became a makeshift sleigh headed to West 52nd Street.
There, their concerns for the family were justified. They found everyone crowded around a small television. There was no sign of Christmas in the house.
“We certainly can’t do a lot of this but this cause touched us,” Robinson said. “Every child needs some tangible evidence of Christmas and this lady was heartbroken that she was not going to be able to provide it.”
# # #
Leave a Reply