Hundreds of gifts given out in community tradition

In bags, boxes and carried by volunteers, the Positive Thinkers of Johnson County gave out gifts for over 120 children from low to no income households Saturday, Dec. 13 at Mountain City Elementary School. Santa's Helping Hands is a yearly tradition the Positive Thinkers have led since the late 1990s. Families share information about their children — including their clothing sizes, favorite colors and interests — and community members buy gifts for them accordingly. The tradition has changed in two important ways since Helene hit last year, Committee Member Carol Camp said. Firstly, Johnson County Ghost Riders Motorcycle Club began collecting money and purchasing gifts for a significant portion of the children. {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="5f6f07b9-c578-420e-af1f-647797c26c41"}} "There's so much devastation in this county and people have a little less to spend than they normally do because of it," Camp said. "The [Ghost Riders] have been unbelievably helpful to meet the need of the community." Camp said the Ghost Riders "adopted" around 70 children this year; the result was enough presents to fill "two rooms." {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="6451c8fe-578e-4bc7-b030-42a85297cb05"}} Secondly, the Positive Thinkers have begun giving families food boxes when they pick up the gifts. Camp said Bristol Motor Speedway has helped fund the boxes with grants; this year's grant was worth $2,000. Camp said the boxes contain "nutritious food, but still food kids like." She listed oatmeal, cereal, pasta, Dinty Moore beef stew, peanut butter and jelly as example items. {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="a3e810cd-11de-4290-8120-b6af09c6102c"}} Camp estimates that each child gets around $75 to $100 worth of gifts. To make sure that money is truly be spent on the right people, recipient families must apply and undergo an interview in October. "They come in with proof that they live in this county and proof of their income, so we establish they really are in need and the children in their care are supposed to be in their care," Camp said. {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="87c61224-d086-4ff2-ba19-ea16d3d11b94"}} The Positive Thinkers also check with local groups who offer similar services to make sure "there's no double dipping going on." Once the Positive Thinkers approve all the applications, they hang up stockings inside Skyline Bank with each child's first name and relevant info. Community members then pick up the stocking of the children they want to buy gifts for. {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="420b32d8-436f-4f47-9415-7eff4593b062"}} One of Camp's favorite memories from Santa's Helping Hands involves a grandmother who only spoke Spanish. "As they walked out I thought "Well, the only thing I know in Spanish is 'Feliz Navidad,' so I called out 'Feliz Navidad,'" Camp said. "The grandmother turned around, came running back and gave me a hug." {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="b4720845-bb90-4c01-ab98-99647aad7c87"}} {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="1a300b57-fad1-4083-bf9f-9ecd0e148e3f"}} {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="11cdfe5a-2260-4f82-ad3b-3e42fce7ba8f"}} {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="1ef5bd4c-ea69-4b86-b2d4-add89233dc17"}} {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="e8d93fee-6194-4f1c-acb0-0ff7f98a7947"}} {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="7c0e93cc-c888-4020-bb39-7a960d1117cf"}} {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="85c45b45-0765-44b9-bd11-0a123e86ea85"}} {{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="16b98602-5a70-4995-9b14-2466840c90aa"}}