In 2023, a six-year-old girl named Memphis Howton made an impact in Jackson County with her special birthday wish. This all happened because this little girl became aware that there were children in her area who weren’t as fortunate as she was; they don’t receive birthday and Christmas gifts every year.
Memphis surprised her mom with a big, selfless birthday wish to forgo any birthday presents for herself and give the gifts she received to children served by Jackson County DHR.
When Shelby Howton, Memphis’ mom, contacted Hollywood 10 Cinema to schedule a birthday party for Memphis birthday, she asked if they could set up a box in the party room for people to give to her toy drive. Amanda Crawford of Hollywood 10 Cinema happily agreed and even set up a box in the lobby of their business for the people of the community to contribute as well. And contribute, they did!
The people of Jackson County came together and made Memphis’ wish come true in a big way.
More than 500 new, unwrapped toys and gift cards were collected and presented to the Jackson County DHR to be distributed to children under their care.
The project, appropriately named the Golden Wish Joy Drive, has been expanded this year to include not only Jackson County DHR but also DeKalb County DHR and Marshall County DHR.
Many local businesses have become sponsors and donation drop-off locations for this Joy Drive! The list for Jackson County includes Divine Faith Boutique, Hollywood 10 Cinema, Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, Harbin Automotive, Kids Kingdom, Venessa’s Boutique, Chick-fil-A Scottsboro, Sothern Heating and Cooling, Precise Family Dental, Better You Weight Loss and Wellness, and Fridays in Stevenson. You can continue to drop off donations until Monday, December 16, in Jackson County.
The DeKalb County businesses include Scooter’s Coffee Fort Payne, Landers McLarty Ford, Randy Posey Allstate Insurance, Basswood Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, and Pennys from Heaven Spa in Rainsville. You can continue to make donations until Friday, December 13, in DeKalb County.
Businesses in Marshall County currently include Guntersville Chevrolet and Sand Mountain Toyota. You can continue to make donations until Thursday, December 12.
A special thank you goes out to all of the businesses and individuals who have donated or helped in any way with the 2024 Golden Wish Joy Drive. Thank you for coming together to help make this a great year for those less fortunate than ourselves.
Courtesy of Mountain Valley News.
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