Operation Giving Heart...an annual tradition by the community for the community

EAST MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas - Santa made an early drop this past weekend to ensure the 5th Annual Operation Giving Heart could distribute toys to 1500 eligible children in East Montgomery County, in time for Christmas.

Organized by Heaven’s Army of Resources and sponsored by the East Montgomery County Fire Department, primarily through their ‘Fill the Hat’ collection effort in recent weeks, the outreach program truly does come full circle, as citizens donated generously to help less fortunate neighbor’s children. This is a win-win for East Montgomery County, as the collected funds are spent at area merchant’s stores.

“Praise God, for the Community pulling together,” said Alisa Barnett, a volunteer with Heaven’s Army of Resources.

“This truly is a community event!” added LaNora Purvis, the founder of Heaven’s Heaven’s Army of Resources, and director for the Operation Giving Heart.

The event is held annually in New Caney, Texas, at Bull Sallas Park. Children are entertained by Santa and a myriad of activities, while their parents secretly select from the bounty in the back room. In addition to the monetary donations and volunteer hours donated by Chief Jeff Taylor’s East Montgomery County Fire Department, the following generosity contributed immensely to the program’s success:

Toy drives (in alphabetical order):

Christian Cowboy Fellowship in Cleveland
Savannah Crihfield with CH&P Management, LLC
Embassy Church in Porter
Lake Houston YMCA
Mrs. Christina Laskie for Zumba
Fred Meyer Jewelers in Kingwood toy drive
Pastor Winston R. Hancock’s North Park Christian Church in Kingwood hosted a toy drive
Plum Grove Assembly
Roman Forest Police Department and the City of Roman Forest toy drive
Mr. Ken & Mrs. Linda Schmitt

A special thanks to Page Austin Cherry for donating blankets for the children.

Charitable donations (in denominational order):

East Montgomery County Fire Department’s “Fill the Hat” campaign, in conjunction with the following donations, raised approximately $13,000 for the Operation Giving Heart project.

The Filter Man (Mrs. Karen Maybee) - $2000
Mr. Rick Hare & Charlotte Ott Hare - $2,000
Cornerstone Church in Cleveland - $1,500
The Auxiliary of VFW Post 4816 - $1,000
Mr. Calvin Wise & Kristi Wise of Wise Kuts in Cleveland - $800
The Little Country Church - $500
Commissioner Jim Clark - $500
Buster Brown Propane - $300
Networking 401 - $300

“Many children will have a very blessed Christmas because of these generous donors. God bless you and your giving heart,” said LaNora Purvis.

Dr. Pepper donated drinks for the event, and the food was compliments of Fish Tales.

See event-at-a-glance in 2015 Operation Giving Heart photo album.

Also In spirit of giving, the following were instrumental in restoring the organization’s van donated to Heaven's Army by Pastor James Holt of Cornerstone Church in Cleveland…Kendle Kay of Xtreme Automotive in Porter, Donnie Click of Click Tire in Porter, for a new set of new tires, and EMC Towing in New Caney for the inspection.

For more information about Heaven’s Army of Resources and its annual Operation Giving Heart outreach program visit their website and follow them on Facebook.

See related article Operation Giving Heart...Hope for Children at Christmas!.

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