What started as an informal gathering of friends eventually turned into a party with a purpose to benefit young children who have been abused or neglected. Once a month, a group of friends in Bonham gets together to celebrate everyone’s birthday for that month. For October, Joyce McGehee decided she wanted to turn it into a belated 70th birthday party for herself and widen the group of invited guests. She decided to rent The Lodge at the Parker Place for the festivities and get Jerry Stewart to entertain the crowd by singing country music.
The Lodge is a rental property located just five minutes from downtown Bonham and owned by Charles and Dana Nix. When McGehee was discussing the rental fee, Dana Nix suggested that they would not charge anything for the rental if every guest would bring a donation of infant or toddler clothing for the Rainbow Rooms.
McGehee works at the Fannin County Children’s Center, which operates the Rainbow Rooms in conjunction with the Child Welfare Board. These emergency resource rooms are located at the Children’s Center and Child Protective Services(CPS.) They are stocked with donations of new clothing, shoes, diapers, coats and other items needed by the abused and neglected children served by CPS and the Children’s Center.
“We appreciate the generosity and thoughtfulness of Charles and Dana Nix, as well as all of the guests who brought donations of new clothing and diapers for the youngest children we serve,” said Sandy Barber of the Children’s Center. “These gifts will help provide for a basic need of our kids.”
For more information about the Children’s Center, go to www.fanninccc.org or call (903) 583-4339.