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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
To all of you wonderful, interested people:
The New York City Fire Department 9/11 survivors and volunteers program “Katrina Kids Christmas” is coming again this year to bring Christmas cheer to Jackson County, Harrison County, Hancock Count and to Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Hancock County and Bayou La Batre are new additions to this marvelous program,
The Stephen Siller (FDNY) "Let us do good" for the Children Foundation is the primary sponsor for the fourth year of this wonderful enterprise. Read about them at www.tunneltotowersrun.org
The Books for Kids Foundation has joined with us the last several years and this year is donating more than $50,000 worth of children’s books to the program. Read about them at www.booksforkidsfoundation.org .
There will be Eight (8) 24-foot trucks donated by PENSKE this year. The firemen will be communicating via Blue Tooth cell phone headsets furnished by Plantronics, Inc.
The firemen will leave New York on Tuesday morning December 9th and after a stop at the Bethesda Outreach Mission in Mechanicsburg, Pa (www.bethesda-mission.org) to pick up donated toys, juice boxes and cookies, they will arrive in Knoxville, TN for the night.
They will arrive at Daphne, AL on Wednesday night December 10th.
Felix's Fish Camp on the Mobile causeway will be hosting dinner for the 16 firemen driving the trucks and they will be guests (at a discounted rate) of the Hampton Inn in Daphne.
Twelve (12) additional firemen will fly into New Orleans, LA that evening and drive over to Daphne to join with the truck caravan.
After a send off at approximately 9 AM the following morning by the Daphne Fire Department, the Mobile Fire Department will provide escort to Bayou La Batre, AL where the Local Fire Department has a special welcome planned. The Mobile Junior League is providing volunteers to organize and distribute the gifts destined for the children of that area.
Later they will be met by the Franklin Creek Fire Department at the welcome center near the Mississippi State line and escorted to the Civic Action complex in Moss Point where they will arrive at approximately 11:30 AM.
With the assistance of the Pascagoula, Escatawpa, Moss Point and Franklin Creek firemen, the trucks will be unloaded and a special treat of Mrs. Diann Payne’s famous gumbo will be served to the visitors.
The firemen’s caravan will then leave for Gulfport. They will be met at the Jackson County Line by the Gulfport Fire Department and escorted to the new Gulfport First Baptist Church where they will be met by representatives of the Gulfport Ladies Junior Auxiliary and Marines from the Toys for Tots program who will assist in the unloading. The Gulfport Ladies Junior Auxiliary will be organizing the distribution for the children of that area.
The firemen’s caravan will then make its way to American Legion Post #77 in Bay St. Louis for the final stop to unload goodies for the children of Hancock County.
The firemen will then proceed to Biloxi where they will be special guests of the Isle Hotel and Casino for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
The hotel and casino is furnishing complimentary rooms and breakfast for all three nights.
Thursday night December 11th, the firemen will enjoy a special dinner compliments of The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi.
On Friday, December 12th a representative of Liberty Mutual Life Insurance Company will join the firemen. Their New York Office donated $5,000 and a truckload of toys to this program.
Ms. Anne Marie Principe of Affinity Projects in New York will then be joining the group. She was also a survivor of 9/11 and is a Board member of Books for Kids that donated more than 10,000 books for this program.
Following breakfast at the Isle Hotel and Casino on Friday December 12th, the firemen have been invited to visit head start classrooms in Jackson, Harrison, Hancock, and Mobile Counties to meet with the children and participate in the distribution of gifts.
Following Friday’s activities, the firemen have been invited to have a late lunch compliments of Mary Mahoney’s wonderful restaurant in Biloxi.
Friday night December 12, the firemen will be special guests of the IP Spa and Casino in Biloxi for a group buffet furnished by the catering manager.
On Saturday December 13th the firemen will participate in the distribution of the toys and refreshments at the Jackson County Civic Action complex in Moss Point, the First Baptist Church in Gulfport, the American Legion Post 77 in Bay St. Louis and the Community Center in Bayou La Batre, Al.
After all that activity, the firemen have been invited to enjoy a complimentary buffet at Boom Town Casino in Biloxi.
The firemen will then depart on Sunday for New Orleans where they will fly out on Jet Blue Sunday afternoon to JFK airport in New York.
Contacts:
Charles Green
Pensacola, FL 850-479-8235
Gulf Coast Coordinator
Katrina Kids Christmas 2008
LT. Tom O’Connor (NYFD RET)
516-781-4899
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