1 week Ago By DIONNE GLEATON T&D Staff Writer
The Calhoun County School District will have coats to help keep needy children warm this winter thanks to the generous donation of more than 50 of them to the district from a group of community members. Calhoun County resident Jacob Hair and state Rep. Jerry Govan coordinated a coat drive with the help of several other community members to pro.
.. Calhoun County resident Jacob Hair and state Rep.
Jerry Govan teamed up for a coat drive effort that was able to provide 54 coats to the district. The coats were presented to the principals of Sandy Run K-8 School, Calhoun County High School and St. Matthews K-8 School on Dec.
17. "The program is for needy kids in Calhoun County and the community that need a coat. It's getting cold.
What really made me come up with it was Jerry Govan, who got tired of seeing so many kids out here cold and don't have a good decent coat to put on," Hair said. He continued, "So I got with him and (Calhoun County Public Schools) Superintendent (Dr. Ferlondo) Tullock, and we came up with the idea and went and bought the coats.
Tullock said, 'Let's go around to each one of the schools and present it to the principals so they'll know that these coats are in the system and make sure that the needy kids get the coats.'" Govan said, "The needs of the community are of the utmost importance. We come from a background in which we've historically been very supportive of education of children and, of course, this was a serious area of need.
" "It's turning cold. Kids need to keep warm. Some may or may not have that access.
Jacob came up with a great idea and says, 'Well, you know, why don't we do a coat drive?' So we approached the superintendent with it. He was gracious enough to work with it," the representative said. "This is a collaboration.
It would not be possible without the help and assistance of others," Govan said. Calhoun County High School Principal Milton Howard said, "It shows that they're investing in the school. They're willing to give back to our kids.
The school probably gave back to them." Howard continued, "A lot of our community went to this school and are very proud of this school. So that's definitely a huge thing.
Since I've been here, I've never seen a community rally around a school and support the kids the way that they support the kids here." Calhoun County High School senior Kiona Hartzell, 17, said, "I feel like it's a good thing they are doing, especially giving coats to like the homeless, or the kids here that don't have any." Hartzell continued, "Sometimes you see kids, and they've got these very thin jackets on.
It's getting colder, and they're going to need heavier jackets. Overall, I think it's a good thing." Tullock said, "It's a good thing the school, the community and others can come together for a common cause.
It's certainly gratifying. It's really heart touching to see the kids benefit." The superintendent said the school district's level of gratitude was immeasurable.
"We certainly appreciate anything and everything that the community does for us. The young people are going to have warm coats to be able to stand out in the mornings to catch the buses to school without having to be cold and worry about getting ill because of no coat," he said. Tullock continued, "We certainly appreciate the community (and) Rep.
Govan helping us and making so where the kids are cared for. It's not just a school effort, it's a community effort..
We couldn't do it without the help of the entire community. This is mission work. We're all a part of this mission together.
" St. Matthews Town Councilman Virgil Jacobs, who also serves as mayor pro tem, said he understood the need that children may have for warm coats and couldn't help but support the coat drive effort. "I thought it was a great idea when I heard about it.
I was like all in for it...
. I try to support any school activities that I can," the councilman said. Hair said, "It was just a coordinated effort by everybody to get this done.
I appreciate them." Govan said, "I had the unique opportunity of working with a great group of people in terms of supporting us for this. We're excited about the future and things that we're going to be doing for the citizens of Calhoun County, as well as the entire district in Orangeburg, Calhoun and Lexington counties.
" "There will be individual projects that we do in each county. A lot of that is going to be driven by our supporters as they've identified needs that we need to address," the legislator said. Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.
com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Staff Writer {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
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