ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT -- The depot's 2011 Christmas Cheer program delivered 7,600 pounds of gifts and 57 bicycles to Calhoun County's Department of Human Resources office in Anniston Dec. 13.
The three truckloads of gifts were donated by employees throughout the depot property, including tenants and contractors.
This year, one child had a request never seen before by the Christmas Cheer volunteers - he wanted a mounted deer head.
So, in a large green box marked "fragile," a deer head was placed for him.
Department of Human Resources case workers plan to deliver the wrapped gifts to the 287 sponsored children before Christmas Day. The depot's Christmas Cheer is an annual program allowing work centers to collect money and purchase age-appropriate gifts for these children, who are in the protective custody of DHR.
Donations for these gifts must fall between $150 and $175. Based on those figures, employees of the depot and her tenant organizations gave more than $43,000 in support of DHR children during this year's Christmas Cheer.
The depot's 28-year history with Christmas Cheer began by helping depot employees with food for the holidays. The program teamed up with DHR in 1997, when they supported 58 children. Over the years, that number has grown dramatically.
Christmas Cheer also allows depot employees to sponsor installation Families, coworkers who have experienced hardships this year and have financial needs. Installation Families are anonymous to contributors -- only identified by a number and the family's situation. They have been approved for the program through depot leadership.
This year, the depot sponsored 10 installation Families, giving a total of $7,975.11.
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