Christmas ‘angels’ provide toys

By MICHAEL C. LEWIS / Journal Staff Writer

MARTINSBURG — Santa’s workshop and some elf helpers came to Berkeley County when Ada Palmer called out to the community to help buy, then wrap toys and clothing for more than 150 children who may not have had a Christmas without her.

The toy drive brought together a partnership for presents involving the United Way, the Department of Health and Human Resources, Martinsburg’s Chamber of Commerce and radio stations WEPM and WLTF, which raised around $2,900 from donations all week.

The kicker came from City National Bank in Martinsburg when a check for $6,000 was delivered Wednesday to help pay for more gifts. After it arrived, Palmer headed up a team of shoppers and volunteers who spent 12 hours purchasing presents Thursday for all the girls and boys.

On Friday and Saturday, families either picked up the packages or simply had them delivered. All told, each child ought to unwrap at least four goodies on Christmas morning.

“I went from having nothing to being able to provide for hundreds of children,” said Palmer, a United Way representative at DHHR. “When I ran out of resources in the community, I cried, then I prayed and asked God to help. Now, I’m looking at a sea of gifts.”

Palmer, an employee at Telamon, United Way, DHHR and Shenandoah Valley Medical Systems — yes, she has four bosses — was approached by case managers looking for help with getting gifts for these youngsters, who for some reason, fell through the cracks in the system.

“Many of these kids were under Child Protective Services, so you can imagine the stories,” said Jan Callen, executive director for the United Way of the Eastern Panhandle.

“The Chamber of Commerce helped us with a blast e-mail trying to find people to adopt them for Christmas presents.”

In addition to the dollar donations, Callen said anonymous donors left stacks of gifts on his doorstep at the United Way throughout the week. He mentioned the chance encounter when Palmer came to the United Way looking for help in the community.

“This community provided overwhelming support,” Callen said. “If we only helped 1 child, that would be reward enough, but now 150 kids are going to have a Christmas.”

Growing up with a single mother, Palmer admitted, most of her gifts as a child came from the Salvation Army. Disheartened to tell other children the truth behind her presents, often, she would say “it’s not polite to talk about gifts from family” when asked what she got.

“A lot of people in the Panhandle don’t want to see poor people, but they do exist,” Palmer said. “Someone has to take care of them. That’s what I do.”

Compounded by her past and a desire to help families with children in need, Palmer, an information and referral specialist, began a flurry of activity to accomplish the mission. Now, the youths will have a Christmas they may never forget.

“I’ve never had a Christmas so grand,” Palmer said. “I know what this means.”

Kathy Boylan, of DHHR, helped organize the pile of applications to determine what gifts to buy based on the clothing sizes of children. She too, spent countless hours wrapping presents.

“It’s amazing how something so small turned into something huge,” Boylan said. “It was very emotional, very heart-warming seeing all the presents we had. If it wasn’t for us these kids wouldn’t have had a Christmas.”

“Christmas is about doing something for someone less fortunate than ourselves,” she said. “Wal-Mart probably loves us. But, none of this could have happened without City National.”

Becky Linton, president at City National Bank, bought and wrapped presents in hopes of giving back to the community. Besides Linton, eight other volunteers put their shopping shoes on, while another 10 DHHR staff members and helpers tied bows and taped on the wrapping paper.

“This is what Christmas is all about,” she said. “We tend to take stuff for granted. The children need these things.

“It truly felt like we were running around in Santa’s workshop,” she said. “This is as close to the North Pole as I’ll ever get.”



— Staff writer Michael C. Lewis can be reached at 263-8931, ext. 127, or mlewis@journal-news.net

2006 Christmas Toy Drive Photos