It’s Hip2Help in Calhoun County, AL July 8th & 9th
Hip2Save Reader Leader
Tina Horn – Email Tina if you are interested in helping out in Calhoun County. Tina’s address: 55 Brooks Dr, Alexandria AL 36250 – 256-620-7330 or 256-239-5206
DAY OF HEALING: Saturday, July 9 – 3PM to 8PM
FREE & OPEN to all survivors & their families: 7 communities & 3 counties invited! Estimated attendance: 300-500
Event Location: Foggy Hollow Farm, Webster’s Chapel, AL – stage and picnic tables with shaded area for inflatables… Please bring your own lawn chairs if at all possible!
Program: Check out the Facebook event page here and the Facebook Group page here for more information and updates.
Food: BBQ, hotdogs, chips, funnel cakes, cookies, etc. The Women’s Ministry at Saks Baptist Church has volunteered to run the kitchen.
Flag Presentation & Bag Pipes: Calhoun County Sheriffs Department & Boy Scouts of America
MC: Glenn Williams, owner of Foggy Hollow Farm
Music: Wilburn & Wilburn (gospel singers), Blaine Cantrell & John Crosslin (songwriters of “The Day The Sky Came Down”), Dan Stitt (singer & comedy act), Foggy Hollow – Valley Road bluegrass band, Mercy’s Gift Trio from Saks Baptist Church, Lynn Lewis singing the National Anthem, and others
Activities & Entertainment: Entertainer Wacky Chad, Face painting, balloon animals, inflatables, ponies & roping demonstrations, giveaways, coupon swap, toys for kids, manicures & hair styling, and so much more. Prayer tent: Saks Baptist Church, Anniston, will have a prayer tent with a box for prayer requests. Free counseling: Calhoun Cleburne Mental Health will set up a tent for support & counseling.
Sponsors for Entertainment, Giveaways, & Activities: Alabamas Lost Toys – Toys for children of survivors; BIG SAM/The Balloon Man – Animal balloons; The Cowboy Church – Ponies & roping demonstrations; Terry Howell – Inflatables; Annelle Lee – Face-painting; Wilburn & Wilburn – Jonathan Wilburn former lead singer for The Gold City Qt; Blaine Cantrell & John Crosslin – Singers & Songwriters of “The Day The Sky Came Down;” Dan Stitt – Singer/Comedy Act; Foggy Hollow – Valley Road blue grass band; Mercy’s Gift Trio from Saks Baptist Church; , Singer Lynn Lewis; MC Glenn Williams; Shirley A Millwood Law Firm – Sponsor; Images Hair Salon & Monet Salon – Haircuts; Totally Pamper Me – Manicures; Massage Therapist; The Mellow Mushroom – Three $20 Gift Certificates; two Avon ladies – Products for gift bags. Darryl Worley of the God & Country Tour is booked elsewhere but is providing giveaways. A local radio station is donating paper fans. The Sunrise Baptist Church, Petal MS, is donating $125 for the purchase of Bibles as giveaways at the prayer tent of the Saks Baptist Church.
Food & Supplies Sponsors: Ron’s BBQ – BBQ & also 100 sandwiches & 200 bags of chips; Steve & Jan’s BBQ; Smoke-N-Hot BBQ; Funnel Cake Truck; Reddy Ice of Anniston – 50 10 lb bags of ice; Buds Best Cookies – 14 cases of cookies; Subway of Alexandria – 500 cups & 500 napkins; Jacks -cups & plates; Krystal of Gadsden – condiments for hotdogs; a special lady – 700 freeze pops; Milo’s Famous Sweet Tea; East Alabama Portables; Express Ink & Toner for printing at cost.
Supplies/Equipment/Volunteers needed for Community Event:
Supplies needed! Tents, extension cords, forks, coolers, canned drinks, water, name tags, sun visors, foil wrap for hotdogs, at least 300 more sandwiches…COOLING station with fans on stage & throughout the park
Volunteers needed! Donations, Media Activity(signs advertising getting the word out to community), someone to do registration at gate
Supplies purchased by Tina for reimbursement by Hip2Save: 400 Bryan Hot Dogs, two boxes of Blow Pops, large bag of Dum Dums; Tina’s husband is going to borrow walkie-talkies for event.
Community Service Work
Date & Time: July 8
Work Description & Location: House painting & potting of flowers for the Keener Family at their home (Mom loves sunflowers!). In addition, minor cleanup and stuffing of gift bags will be done at the Foggy Hollow Farm in advance of the July 9th event.
Supplies/Equipment/Volunteers needed for Community Service Work: Paint & painting supplies; flowers, plants, pots, & potting soil
Families to be Sponsored
Description of Sponsorship: TWO FAMILIES: #1 Thornton Family with two school-age children – the oldest of whom requires surgery on June 8th. Their home was partially destroyed, including the living & kitchen areas. A big need is clothing for their 15-year-old daughter (size 2 shorts/pants, small size for tops, & size 7 shoe) and for their 11-year-old son (size 32 pants/shorts, MENS size medium shirt, & size 9 1/2 shoe). The boy loves sneakers! The Dad wears XL shirts; #2 Keener Family with three children (two boys – ages 4 & 5; one girl – age 8). Their home was completed destroyed, and their lawnmower and bikes for the kids were then stolen. They were living in a tent until recently and have now moved into an older home with bare necessities only.
Sponsors for the Families: Alabama Teachers Credit Union – Giftcards (amount to be determined); Monet Salon & Day Spa – Thanks, Kim P.! – Haircut, style, & facial for each Mom; Totally Pamper Me – Thanks, Tammy D.! – Manicure & Pedicure for each Mom; Experience Massage – Thanks, Candice W.! – Massage for each Mom; Foot Bros Carpet One – Thanks, Jamey R.! – New flooring AT COST for each home; Family Video Creations – Thanks, Mark Franks! – Pictures taken and/or restored to video (up to a $300 value!)
Supplies/Volunteers needed for the Families: Kitchen supplies and food, toys, etc.; Clothing for the Thornton family – For the teenage girl: size 2 shorts/pants, small size for tops, & size 7 shoe; For preteen boy: size 32 pants/shorts, MENS size medium shirt, & size 9 1/2 shoe – sneakers preferred! Also, Lowe’s or Walmart gift cards are very much appreciated for home repairs. Tina is putting together a big gift basket of lady’s things and men’s things for DAD, Bass pro shop card, etc. For the Keener kids: Barbie dolls & accessories, Spiderman, Mario, & Ironman. For the Keener home: Chest of drawers, bathroom fixtures for the tub, plants & flowers! Please donate directly to Tina or to the Saks Baptist Church listed below.
Local Donation Drop-Off
Drop-Off Location: Saks Baptist Church, c/o Tina Horn Hip2Help, 2945 US Hwy 431, Anniston, AL 36206 or directly to Tina Horn
List of Needs for Donations: 100 reusable grocery bags (Walmart may help here!); items for gift bags to storm survivors: lotion, antibacterial soap, body sprays, little tools, etc. (Dollar Store varieties), socks, combs, brushes, cleaning supplies, nail polish, nail clippers, nail files, razors, hand mirrors, & anything that someone, who has lost everything, might need. For families who are being sponsored, please see needs list above.
Thanks to Calhoun County businesses for all your help! Update from Tina on June 3: A local shot gun sporting goods store donated a box of men’s hats. The Avon lady filled up Tina’s SUV up… with boxes of shampoo, shoes, new pretty sandals, pj sets, makeup (lots of that), some household gadgets, lotion & sun hats for women. Tina’s hometown drug store donated $20 worth of product, including glass cleaner, baby wipes, trash bags, and screwdriver combo sets.
PLANS for Friday, July 8th
Community Service Work – See above.
Lunch at Chick-fil-A, 1205 Highway 21 South, Oxford – 1PM. It’s Cow Appreciation Day at this restaurant. Please come in your homemade cow outfit for a free lunch!
Walmart with Collin – more to follow!
Dinner at Top O’ The River Restaurant for Hip2Help volunteers (consisting of 14 local residents & 23 visiting Hip2Savers)
* This is a work in progress!
