Veteran Carriers hosted a toy drive to benefit Gilliard & Co.'s With Love Project, a foster care support initiative for at-risk families, at Lucy Belle Farms on Dec. 11.
When Tabitha Guy, my home girl from Jefferson County, told me VC founders Cliff White and Rob Cooch wanted to give toys to "the local lady in Pooler that helps foster kids," I told her we could make that happen!
The first thing Tabitha asks me when she sees me is, "Where are your toys?!" Obviously they don't need more because the entire floor beneath a massive Christmas tree is filled with toys from people like Kiko Nieves, VC's safety director, and his gorgeous wife Emalee.
In coordinating cobalt attire, the happy couple tell me, “We brought everything from a miniature grill set and dirt bike to twin baby dolls and Tonka trucks. Knowing that these toys are going to foster kids to make sure they have Christmas makes us even happier to give.”
While making my rounds, I snap a fashion model pic of Hannah Cooch, Starsha White and Jessica Wargin, then follow the ladies over to take pics of their dapper-dressed husbands. Smiling when Chicago native Lukas Wargin answers my question "What do you love?" with "I love my wife," I head over to pause Rob for their photo.
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
I’m not sure how Rob has managed to make a red suit trimmed in black look so good but it may have something to do with Hannah’s fitted red lace dress! And then my photo reluctant Cliff actually smiles at me when I snap fast pics of him getting loved on by his uber-fit wife Starsha!
Back to Tabitha, VC's recruitment, marketing and nonprofit specialist has added event planning to her resume, but I manage to pause her for a photo with long-time VC driver Quon Smith while they shake it on the dance floor.
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
Watching these young cats cut a rug is short-haul driver Quentin Waldburg. Veteran Carriers family, Quentin tells me, "I love driving, having my independence, and out there it's just me and the road."
Next up, chassis foreman Markese Mason and his wife Cierra pose with Travan Williams and chassis technician Calvin Ford. Birmingham terminal over the road (OTR) driver Stevie Aldrich shyly smiles with his wife Gail, then VC's super smooth Irishman Damian Shields hits the floor to re-enact the dance scene from "Dirty Dancing" with his curly-haired wife Gina.
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
Santa Claus aka Roy White Sr. is making his rounds! The DOT compliance manager is also Cliff's dad, is called Pops by the entire VC family, and is slightly happy to pose with his younger brother Luther Paul White. Chatting with yet another family member as part of the VC team, Paul is telling me how proud he is of his brother when I hear someone yelling my name.
Good grief! Is that Ron Lewis?! From 10th grade until now, Ron is the same! Squeezing my Jefferson County friend, I hate to run but Cliff has taken the mic to thank his team for showing up with toys. ""We have all been there, we have all had our struggles. We are going to take these toys and give them to families in need and bless them with a Merry Christmas."
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
After telling Whitney Gilliard, founder and CEO of Gilliard & Co., that a truckload of gifts was on the way, I ask her to explain more of what she does. "G&Co's With Love Project is a grant assistance program to support families within the preservation and prevention unit of our local DFCS system. These are families trying but there are still children that are hungry, bills that need to be paid, and there isn't enough money for food, much less gifts.
“I know what that feels like. I was a young mother (still in foster care) and relied on the financial support of my community and the little support system I had to make sure that my baby boy stayed by my side. That was frightening but it led me to founding a support service for local kids,” shares the petite powerhouse.
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
Credit: Bunny Ware / For Savannah Morning News
Four years with her doors open, 10 years of foster care advocacy and her past experience in foster care, Whitney has impacted the lives of over 500 families because of the tremendous community support from people like Cliff and Rob and a room full of their trucking family.
I personally can’t wait to see Whitney’s face when Tabitha arrives with this truckload of Christmas miracles for children who have endured a tough year!
Learn more about Carl Gilliard & Co. online at gilliardandcompany.org
Invite Bunny Ware to your gathering, gala or other social event. Contact her at 912-844-1122 or email at bunnyware@aol.com. See more columns by Bunny at SavannahNow.com/Lifestyle/.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Toy drive benefits foster care support initiative with holiday gifts for kids: Bunny Ware
