Mayor’s Motorcade In Need of Christmas Items

Just a reminder, there is still time to get in your donations for this year’s Mayor’s Christmas Motorcade. The deadline in Lavonia to contribute is Tuesday, December 2nd• Towns across Northeast Georgia including Lavonia and Royston are participating in the
annual statewide event that collects toys and other gifts for residents of Georgia’s state
homes.
Lavonia mayor Ralph Owens said all sorts of items are needed for patients, many of
whom have lived in the hospital facility for much of their lives and receive little, if any,
support from their families.“You can see any of the girls at City Hall, Angie, Susan, any of those, and they have a room to put them in. I think the 1st of December, the 2nd, somewhere along in there is the deadline for it. So, we are working real hard on it to get people to give. I know things are hard for everyone, but there’s a lot of folks that are less fortunate.”
Other items needed this year include clothing such as extra large size pajamas, sweat
shirts and pants, and miscellaneous items such as PG or Grated DVD movies, pens
and pencils, and stationary.

Without the Mayors’ Christmas Motorcade, these residents would not receive any gifts
for Christmas. The Mayor’s Christmas Motorcade was begun in 1958 by the wife of Lavonia native Ernest Vandiver when he was Governor of Georgia.
In Royston, mayor David Jordan said many local businesses donate every year to the
Mayor’s Christmas Motorcade, but he said citizens may also donate.
“Over the past couple of years we’ve collected a large number of items. Usually we’ve gotten items, like personal care items, This year we’re asking for clothing, personal care items or game boards, stationary, anything that someone in a state facility could use. Regular citizens can donate and Royston City Hall.”
In addition to bringing gifts to the residents in Georgia’s State Hospitals, the Mayor’s
Christmas Motorcade is also aimed at raising the awareness of the needs of Georgia’s
mental hospitals.
There are currently seven regional state hospitals for the cognitively challenged, serving
some 3,200 Georgians.