Jackson Free Press

Pam Greer remembers what it felt like to not get any Christmas gifts. When she was a child growing up in Magnolia, Miss., her family couldn't afford them and were too proud to ask for help.

This year, Greer, 28, decided to start "Pretty Christmas Toy Drive" for families in need this Christmas. In November, Greer used Facebook to ask people to recommend families that needed help buying presents this holiday season. Greer says that while other established toy drives exist in the Jackson metro, families don't always ask for help on their own.

"I decided to do this on my own because many people are too embarrassed to go to the Salvation Army or Toys for Tots and all the other different drives," she says. "There are people whose pride wouldn't allow them to say 'Hey, I need help.'"

On Saturday, 18 families gathered at the Eudora Welty Library to receive their gifts. The event included a reading of "A Christmas Story," and photography for the families donated by Ken Gordan. Greer received donations to purchase gifts for 65 children from friends and The Locker Room Sports Lounge in Jackson, but she financed almost half the cost herself.

"It was more toys than (I) had ever seen growing up. There was a lot of crying, and it made me cry," she says about Saturday's event.

Greer, a paralegal at Cosmich Simmons & Brown law firm, earned her bachelor's degree in marketing from Jackson State University in 2004. After brief stints in Houston and Chicago, she returned to Jackson for her current job.

Do you know a Jacksonian or Mississippian who should be the JFP Person of the Day? Briefly tell us his or her story, sending it to [e-mail missing]. Please include contact information and a picture, if possible.

Previous Comments

ID

161327

Comment

Thanks Pam!!! GOOD WORK!!!

Author

dd39203

Date

2010-12-20T14:05:43-06:00

ID

161331

Comment

Thank you for selecting me as the Person of the Day. The event was a way to give back to all people and show that people still care about others. Again, thanks to my family and friends who supports my ideas and who never doubted me. Again, Thank you. -Pam Greer Facebook: www.facebook.com/misspamgreer Email: [email protected]

Author

Pam Greer

Date

2010-12-21T09:28:42-06:00