This past week, The Craddock Center delivered over 1,200 new books and donated hand-made, knitted hats to children.
Through their program, The Story Express, the center “delivers hundreds of new, children’s books three times a year to the 60 classrooms and children we serve,” Executive Director Kirk Cameron said. “Children can choose their own book to take home and love.”
Additionally, through The Story Express, the center visits health fairs, food pantries, community events and Camp Craddock sites to distribute new books.
Last year, The Story Express delivered over 4,500 books.
The books themselves are “donated to The Craddock Center through the generosity of individuals as well as local, state and nationwide networks of supporters,” Cameron said.
Thanks to the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association’s Fiber Art Group and Ann Grant from Atlanta, over 1,600 hats were donated for distribution.
“Winters in the mountains can be cold, and many of the children we serve do not have adequate clothing for the cold, winter months,” Cameron said. “A warm, knitted hat helps tremendously in preventing loss of critical body heat in the very young.”
The Craddock Center’s mission is to “deliver educational and cultural programs to young children, families and individual communities in southern Appalachia,” Cameron said.
The Story Express serves Dawson, Gilmer, Fannin, Lumpkin, Pickens, Towns and Union Counties in Georgia along with Polk County, Tennessee, and Cherokee County, North Carolina.
Learn more about The Craddock Center by visiting their website at www.craddockcenter.org.
Donations can be made on the Craddock Center’s website or by mailing them to P.O. Box 69, Cherry Log, Georgia, 30522.