Community Invited to Participate in County’s Helping Hands Tree

November 18, 2009 – The community is invited to join Cabarrus County employees in helping local families and individuals have a merrier holiday. For the fifth year, Cabarrus Helping Hearts and Hands (CH3), an employee–run charitable committee, is partnering with the community to sponsor the Helping Hands Tree.

Much like an “angel tree,” the Helping Hands Tree contains gift tags with gift lists for children and adults served by CVAN, The Arc of Cabarrus County, Cabarrus Meals on Wheels, Cabarrus County Senior Centers, Cabarrus Group Homes, Department of Social Services Foster Care Association, Carolina Children’s Center, Hospice and Palliative Care, Davita Dialysis, Cabarrus County Boys and Girls Club, Piedmont Residential Development Center and Coltrane LIFE Center.

Those who wish to provide gifts for foster children, individuals in group homes, senior citizens and others may select a gift tag from the Helping Hands Tree at one of the following seven locations: Cabarrus County Governmental Center, 65 Church Street, Concord; Cabarrus County Senior Center, 331 Corban Avenue SE, Concord; Mount Pleasant Senior Center, 8615 Park Drive, Mount Pleasant; and all four Cabarrus County library branches, 27 Union Street North, Concord; 850 Mountain Street, Kannapolis; 8556 Cook Street, Mount Pleasant and 201 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. Gift tags may be picked up from the helping hands tree now through December 9.

Here’s how it works:

• Select a gift tag from the tree in one of the seven locations.
• The back of the tag has information about the individual and/or specific gift needs.
• List your name, address and telephone number by the ID number found on the sign up sheet on the table beside the Helping Hands Tree.
• Go shopping and purchase your choice of items from the list.
• Label gifts with the ID number on the snowman tag.
• Return unwrapped gifts by Friday, December 11 by 5 pm to the location where the gift tag was collected.

For additional information, please contact Franchesca Martin at 704-920-2430.