INSIDE Local comic making his mark after winning stand-up contest > page 7
Volume 60, Number 49 • December 24, 2015
Inside: Master Gardeners offer tips on keeping your poinsettias healthy all year long. See page 4
Christmas Mother calls program ‘life-changing’ By Roslyn Ryan Editor
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Program offers a way to donate meat as the close of hunting season nears Contributed report
fter serving as Goochland’s Christmas Mother for 2015, a rigorous assignment involving months of planning, fundraising and multi-tasking, Dianna Gordon has come to one conclusion: She’d do it again in a heartbeat. Speaking about the program on Monday, a little over a week after she and her scores of dedicated volunteers distributed the hundreds and hundreds of gifts they collected for area residents in need, Gordon described the experience as a transformative one. “It’s almost hard to explain,” she said. “You just don’t realize how many people do without in your community. This has really been so eye-opening and it’s an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life.” Gordon estimated that this year’s effort was able to help over 700 county residents of all ages, which is no easy task when one considers how many gifts Gordon
Area hunters urged to help feed hungry
see Christmas Mother > 10
Deer hunting season will end Saturday, Jan. 2, in most of Virginia and hunters have donated generously to Hunters for the Hungry. Over 150,000 pounds of meat have been donated, providing 600,000 quarter-pound servings. The program is hopeful that with just two weeks left, hunters will go afield again and harvest deer for those in need. Donating is simple: Hunters are asked to take their legally harvested deer to one of the Hunters for the Hungry participating processing locations or collection sites. A listing of these locations can be found at the Hunters for the Hungry website, www.h4hung-rv.org. Those wishing to donate will be asked to fill out some simple paperwork that this year also qualifies them for an entry into a 25-prize free drawing. Details on the free drawing also are listed on the website. The professional meat processors that work with the program do an excellent job of preparing the meat for distribution through local feeding programs such as the Salvation Army, church food pantries and local food banks. These hard-working men and women give the Hunters for the Hungry program a discount off their normal fee, making the donated dollars go see Hunters > 4