Food Drive totals

Friends of Lighted Christmas Balls donated 3,729 pounds of non-perishable food during December 2008; this is 753 pounds, or 25%, over 2007's total!

Twin brothers from different mothers

Atmore News (AL) contributing writer Bonnie Bartel Latino keeps her eyes open, at least on one side. And when she sees something that needs just a little more looking into, well, she starts connecting the dots...or in this case, the gumdrops, and before she knows it, there's a story. Though she's never "seen" Sunset Hills' Lighted Christmas Balls per se, what she "saw" through the eyes of Master-At-Arms 1st Class Fritz Currie, United States Navy, Reserves, was as clear as if she had been on Ridgeway Drive herself. Currie, it turns out, touched down in Greensboro to see friends (Sunset Hills' Blake and Robin Conklin), enroute to Atmore, AL from the Middle East, and got bitten by the Lighted Christmas Balls. Fritz "took" the Lighted Christmas Balls to his native hometown, where they grace 305 S. Pensacola Avenue. I can't wait to meet him. He can't wait to light up the whole town.

Treat yourself and read Bonnie's feature article which was printed in the Atmore News New Year's Eve edition.

We'd love to hear from you, in person, email, or comment box below...

Lighted Christmas Balls on Current TV

fcproducer's producer/editor andy coon and and blake faucette, dp, came to see us Christmas Eve with their video cams, spirits of adventure, and filmed this treasure of a documentary (with no rehearsals or retakes). Truly they captured the spirit of Christmas, but hearing their stories about how the Lighted Christmas Balls brighten their lives was a real gift. Thanks Andy (and Blake), for sharing your gifts and talents, and for spreading the Lighted Christmas Balls.



enjoy it, share it, and tell the folks at current tv how you like it.

if you haven't already seen it, check out video andy made in 2006 of the Lighted Christmas Balls.

today's offering

The utility trailer sits parked and open, as would one with outstretched hands, ready to receive gifts of food, providing nourishment and hope for the under-nourished and hope-less.

within hours of having its 686 pounds of food taken to Greensboro Urban Ministry, the little trailer began filling up all over again. Since last

night:

Thank you Greensboro

Several angels kept watch over the food collection sites at Ridgeway and Rolling and Ridgeway and Madison this weekend. Rain, high winds, and bone-chilling cold took their tolls on donors over the weekend but that didn't stop folks from giving. Brenda, Sean, and Anna Bowman stepped up to take the "harvest" over to Greensboro Urban Ministries Food Pantry today. What a joy to have them jump in to help, especially with the thermometer dropping into the mid teens tonight. And I know they were blessed, too. It's a little overpowering to drive past S. Eugene Street, turn right into the back parking lot, and drive past faces of real men and women living on the margins of life. It's something else altogether to back up your minivan to the loading dock into hands that will weigh it, stock it, and distribute it to those in need.

December 8th - Second Harvest (747 lbs)

December 19th - Greensboro Urban Ministry (572 lbs) and

December 22nd Brenda, Sean, and Anna Bowman - Greensboro Urban Ministry (686 lbs).

So when your friends tell you that they are coming over to see your lights, be sure and tell them not to come empty handed :)

Merry Christmas to you all. Anne & Jonathan

rain doesn't slow food drive

It rained Monday and Tuesday and drizzled off and on all day today. That hasn't slowed visits to the yellow barrel at the four-way stop sign at Ridgeway and Rolling and the utility trailer at the corner of Madison and Ridgeway. People put dry goods in the big red Rubbermaid tub and secured food-filled plastic bags to keep the rain out. I didn't take pics of each night's haul, but now that it's Wednesday night and my Suburban is full, I need to drop it off at the Food Pantry and get ready for the weekend. Anne and I are going to do a little adding up this weekend - she has one of those little counter things that ticket takers use to count attendance at concerts and sporting events. We'll let you know the count...and also how much food has been contributed so far.

LCB's are glowing all over. There's an extra special 13 Lighted Christmas Balls on Cardinal Wood Drive. It stays lit day and night keeping vigil, encouraging all who pass by and those who live there. If you're over that way, check it out.

More pictures of the Lighted Christmas Balls!

Harvey, a Sunset Hills resident, has a new camera with image stabilization so he took these nice photos last Friday night.

This truck may top our lights!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I saw this....I said "Jonathan, stop whatever you are doing and get him to stop." I just had to have a photo of this WONDERFUL truck. It belongs to our new friend(as of last night) Mark in Kernersville. He brings his cute daughter April over for ballet classes - she is int the middle of practicing for the Nutcracker. Look at this Christmas display in the bed of this wonderful 1981 fully restored Dodge crewcab (I hope I got this right) ANYWAY...they were so nice, they pulled over, we took photos...and visited. Mark had decorated it just for fun for a spontaneous annual parade in Catsquare NC (I hope I got that right too) Mark and his family moved to NC from Arizona and is an engineer at Volvo Trucks. In my opinion we are lucky to have him drive through...come often, bring your friends and some canned food for the trailer in the front yard.


NEWS FLASH #1 We sent 747 pounds of canned goods over to 2nd Harvest this morning with Gardner....next load going to Urban Ministry

NEWSFLASH #2 We got a huge discount(actually it was a credit) from Lowe's(good to shop there - they treated us right on this deal) We were credited enough to give each of you $1 per ball back - What an operational and accounting nightmare that would be so we made the decision to send the profits to Urban Ministry $127 and Second Harvest $127 and credited the remaining $$ to the lighted Christmas ball project for the kids in the tutoring progam at Grace Community Church in Glenwood - they each got a ball to take home this year as well as one to hang in the front of the church. It is worth a drive to 643 West Lee Street to see the 60 hanging there.