Winston Plywood and Veneer Hosts Christmas From The Heart

WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – An area business is giving back to the community that helped get it through some tough times.

It’s called ‘Christmas From the Heart’ and the goal is to make Christmas brighter for children in the area.

It’s Winston Plywood and Veneer’s way to give back to a community that’s helped them bounce back.

The toys are going to some children who might have been overlooked by other groups.

Winston Plywood has weathered a lot in the past few years, including destruction from the 2014 tornado, that swept through Louisville.

This year, the company wanted to give back to the community that’s helped them, so plant manager Ken Carter, with help from team members, came up with Christmas From the Heart.

“Whenever the plant shut down the first time, it was detrimental to the people in Winston County. A lot of people that are working here now, have been in the shoes of the people we’re trying to help, who probably wouldn’t have money for Christmas for their kids, but now that they’ve got jobs and Atlas has come here and created jobs for us, they wanted to give back.”

The plant partnered with Child Protective Services, to give these Christmas gifts to children placed in foster homes and children removed to safe locations.

“We thought, those are the forgotten, the kids that are left behind and those you don’t always think about. It’s not the kids that you find on the Angel Trees, or the other partnerships, the Toys for Tots Drive. It’s those that are left behind,” says Winston Plywood and Veneer Vice President of Human Resources, Susan Holland.

“We have 33 kids in foster care at the moment, knock on wood that nothing else happens. So for the per capita of Winston County, that’s a lot of kids here and then we’ve got 18, 20, 25 or plus children, that are just in the community that we’re working different cases with now,” says Winston County Child Protection Services Area Social Work Supervisor, Joann Clark.

When Clark sees all of these toys, tears come to her eyes.

Clark says the 2014 tornado was devastating to everyone in the community in different ways.

“We were the front-line people that were in the trucks feeding people and trying to get homes for people. That’s one of the duties that we do as social workers for this county, so to have someone reach out to us and not for us to have to reach out to them, is just amazing. It’s a God send,” says Clark.

Holland says it’s important for the plant to stay rooted in the community to give back to the place, where many of them work and live.

“It just shows the tremendous effort and tremendous support and really dedication of the team, that we have to rebuild the way we have and now, be able to turn around and share.”

12 to 14 bikes were donated.

One particular family has 8 children that will receive some of the bikes, along with some of the toys.