A WARM HOLIDAY STORY IN NORRISTOWN
HARRISBURG, DEC. 22 – Santa Claus, state Sen. Connie Williams and Allan Miller of the Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation arrived by Norristown Fire Department fire truck today at the Norristown Public Library to deliver holiday gifts and to tell a holiday story of generosity, caring and cooperation that involves the Christian Network Outreach Church in Norristown
"The holiday season is traditionally a time of family and friends, beautiful music and special religious observances. It is also a time when everyone is busy trying to find the perfect gift, bake delectable holiday treats and visit loved ones. Thanks to several generous donations and the cooperation of local officials, there is another reason to celebrate the holiday this year in Norristown – the child care facility at Christian Network Outreach Church that was closed recently due to structural problems in the building, will be repaired and the facility opened again to families who rely on it," Williams said.
During a news conference at the church, Williams and Edward Turner, Norristown council vice president; and Miller spoke about the cooperation that led up to re-opening the child-care facility.
Earlier this month, Norristown officials made the decision to close the church because stonework was falling from the building. A representative of the child-care facility contacted Williams to ask for her help in helping to keep the child care portion of the church open. Overall, repairs to the church are expected to cost about $100,000, but initial repairs to keep the child care center open were completed this week at a cost of about $5,000.
"There are many needy people who rely on this child-care facility so that they can go to work each day," Williams said. "I found several generous donors and then the most wonderful things began to happen – Norristown officials came together to issue the necessary permits to allow the work to begin and local craftspeople quickly started the repairs so that the child care facility would reopen as quickly as possible."
About the same time, Williams was contacted by the Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation, which had been given a number of toys and books for children. The gifts were donated by one of the foundation members who had held a holiday gathering and asked for children's gifts rather than personal gifts for those in attendance. When the foundation heard the story of the Christian Network Outreach Church, they quickly asked to donate the toys to the children at the child care.
Williams then contacted the holiday elf – Santa Claus -- and spoke with the Norristown Fire Department who agreed to transport Santa from the North Pole to Norristown to help distribute the gifts.
"So many people showed the true spirit of the holiday season in making today's event possible," Williams said.
Among those that Williams thanked for making the announcement possible are: William Procyson, Norristown council president; Edward Turner, council vice president; Rochelle Griffin Culbreath, Mila Hayes, Catherine Lawrence, David Hodo and William Caldwell, council members; Interim Administrator and Chief of Police Russell Bono, Jayne Musonye, Norristown director of Planning; Cara Green, director of Finance; Chris Fazio, director of Public Works; Hank Cisco, Norristown ambassador; Norristown Fire Department Chief Tom O'Donnell, Allan Miller, executive director of the Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation, Jaime Lokoff a trustee of the foundation; Lisa Kemmerer of the foundation; Lisa Tordo of the foundation; and Bishop Bruce L. Allen and the Rev. Diane Allen of the Christian Network Outreach Church.