Last Friday, a birthday celebration honoring 14-year-old Jameshia Attaway of Indianola and her cousin, 13-year-old JaQkelieh Wilson of Leland was refashioned as an opportunity to share with others.
For the past six years, Attaway has collected various items and donated them plus her birthday gifts to others in order to make their Christmas a little merrier, and each year the effort has grown even larger.
This year, for the first time, Wilson, whose birthday falls on Dec. 19 decided to join in the giving.
Attaway’s birthday is Dec. 1 and she began collecting gifts on that day and continued until Friday when she and members of her Girl Scout Troop, 30123, visited Greenwood Leflore Hospital and had the opportunity to experience, first-hand, what it was like to show true compassion.
Through the diligence and hard work of Attaway, Wilson and the Girl Scouts they were able to donate collected personal hygiene products such as toothpaste, socks, toothbrushes, soap, and more to the patients, plus deliver over 50 toys to the hospital’s Rainbow Room for children that are hospitalized.
“Children will be able to leave the hospital with at least one good memory, a gift from Troop 30123,” said Shequite Johnson, Attaway’s mother.
Due to a generous donation from the First Baptist Church of Indianola, who partnered with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the girls were able to present backpacks full of school supplies, snacks, personal hygiene products, and other items donated by the FBC.
“The organizations wanted to show the love of Christ in a very tangible way,” Johnson added.
Upon completion of their hospital visit, the girls attended Attaway’s annual birthday celebration where she then donated all of her birthday gifts in hopes of bringing smiles to others during the Christmas Season.
Rev. Adoris Turner was the invited guest speaker for the celebration and as part of his remarks, he explained the true meaning of Christmas and elucidated on why Christmas should be celebrated in the first place.
Johnson said there was plenty to give this year because of the partnerships and help from the community members. She said every child who attended left with gifts and wisdom. Mayor Steve Rosenthal and Tax Assessor/Collector, Cynthia Chandler tendered special gifts of appreciation to all of the girls.
