Lamar County DHR celebrates the holidays by giving back

LAMAR COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Lamar County Department of Human Resources is celebrating the holidays by adding some cheer for children and families in need.

Since October, Lamar County DHR has worked with Lamar Aide to gather contributions from the community so children can have presents of their own.

“People come in and basically fill out an application that gives us the number of children in their home. And we look at those applications and determine based on those applications to serve children in Lamar County,” said Randy Shelton, Director of Lamar County DHR.

The whole west Alabama county is home to about 14,000 people. That makes it one of the smaller counties in the state.

Shelton said this year, 770 gifts will go to 79 families within the county, giving 154 children a special holiday.

“With Lamar County being a rural county with just a few small towns, it is important to help the citizens of this county that need assistance during the special time of the year. To try to help build rapport with the community and provide a resource for those families to where hopefully they can have a merry Christmas,” said Shelton.

And Shelton said it’s all about giving back and helping the families and children.

If you would like to contribute to the Christmas program, there is still time. Lamar County DHR is accepting gifts up until Christmas day. For more information on how to take part, call the Human Resource Department at (205)695-5000.

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