THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512080186
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
A well-traveled Christmas tree has found a home of its own at the Suffolk Shelter for the Homeless on Finney Avenue
The Tidewater chapter of Telephone Pioneers of America, telecommunications industry workers and retirees, decorated the 5-foot fir with chubby, handcrafted bears, candy canes, Christmas balls and lights and made it the star of their Christmas float.
After appearing in both the Norfolk Parade of Lights and the Portsmouth Christmas parade, the tree was ready for a permanent home.
Last week, chapter president Darlene Smalling and treasurer Charlie Massengill trucked the tree to the shelter, where they lovingly rearranged branches and ornaments that had been jostled out of place.
Smalling, a Bell Atlantic engineering clerk from Portsmouth; and Massengill, a Bell Atlantic engineer from Suffolk, had shepherded the tree from its purchase to its final destination.
``I feel like saying `Goodbye buddy, it's good to see you finally here,' '' Massengill said as he made a final adjustment to the tree's lights.
The bears that decorated the tree, called Hug-a-bears, are handmade by Pioneer volunteers as part of a national project. Started in 1979, in a South Dakota pediatrics ward, the program has since given away more than a million bears to children who have been through traumatic experiences.
This year, the Tidewater chapter of Pioneers made 200 bears and donated them to the state police, Bennett's Creek Rescue Squad, the Driver Volunteer Fire Department and the Portsmouth General Hospital emergency room, as well as to the shelter.
The Tidewater chapter includes 1,618 members from every city in Hampton Roads. In addition to the Christmas Hug-a-bear project, the organization is sponsoring a gift and food drive to provide Christmas presents and dinners for shelter residents.
``Anytime someone is away from home, a Christmas tree can make them feel better,'' said Michelle Tomlin, shelter director. ``It is always nice to have people reaching out to the shelter becuase many people in other locations are not really aware of us, and we are the only shelter in this part of Tidewater.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by PHYLLIS SPEIDELL
Darlene Smalling, left, president of the Tidewater chapter of
Telephone Pioneers of America, and Linda Everette, assistant
director of the Suffolk Shelter for the Homeless, make some
adjustments to Christmas ornaments on the tree that was donated to
the shelter.
by CNB