Local athletes give back to citizens with coat drive
Published 4:32 pm Thursday, December 21, 2017
- Photo Contributed Witten Huddle members provided coats to residents within the EHDA this week.
Witten Huddle is doing more than just preparing athletes for action on the field.
Residents of the Elizabethton Housing and Development Agency received a special treat this week as the future athletic stars of Elizabethton and Carter County distributed hundreds of scarves, toboggans and other warm items for the holiday season.
Members of Witten Huddle caravanned to Pine Ridge Circle to distribute the gifts, much to the joy of residents, according to EHDA Director Kelly Geagley.
“This wonderful group visited every residence and provided warm clothes for this winter to all ages,” Geagley said. “On behalf of all the residents, we would like to publicly thank Witten Huddle for their generosity and support provided to the EHDA community. As a result of all their efforts, the residents will have a warmer winter.
“Warm Up With Witten Huddle,” which started in 2016, was the collective effort of Witten and officials with Witten Huddle to give back to the community and give students part of the program a chance to learn community involvement.
“Ryan is a former employee of the housing agency,” Geagley said. “He contacted me last year about doing this drive. When we talked about it, he talked about the support he received and that he wanted to give back while teaching members of Witten Huddle about giving back. A lot of our people don’t really have the means to buy winter coats. To know we’ll have residents warm this weather … you can’t say enough about it.”
Having the future generation involved with the project was also a sight to behold, according to Geagley.
“Ryan gave them a speech before the drive,” he said. “He mentioned they may see classmates and others who live up here. I think it’s great for our people residents and for his organization to have a chance to give back and part of a community project.”
Geagley added he appreciated everyone’s assistance for the project.
Visit wittenhuddle.com to learn more about the organization.