ISC NEWS

Chevron contractor presents $4,000 check to Jackson-George Toys for Tots

Published: Thursday, December 8, 2011
By: Kaija Wilkinson
Courtesy of the Mississippi Press 2011© All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission

PASCAGOULA, Mississippi – Dec. 8, 2011 –

-- When Jackson-George County Toys for Tots coordinator Diane Vice reopened registration for two days earlier this week, she was overwhelmed.

"I was expecting to get several hundred more kids, but we ended up with about 700 (more)," she said.

That brings the total for the two counties to about 1,500 children, several times what it has been in years past.

That's why a $4,000 donation the local Toys chapter received Thursday means so much, she said.

ISC Constructors, a Chevron contractor out of Baton Rouge, is responsible for the gift. Their employees raised the money through a raffle they conceived back in the fall, according to Jeff Tanner, site manager.

"Most of our employees and associates are based here, and we decided we really wanted to do something for the local economy," Tanner said.

Employees knew Diane through her husband's business, Vice Construction, and ISC representatives sat down with Vice and told her about their plan a few weeks ago.

It involved buying an array of items for raffle, with the top prize being a hunting rifle or its cash equivalent. "That way," Tanner said, "we could get the ladies involved too."

They sold about 1,000 tickets at $5 each, he said.

The effort was a first for ISC in this community, but Tanner said he hopes it will become a holiday tradition.

Vice said the gift puts the local Toys for Tots drive almost halfway to its goal of $45,000. That total will make it possible for each child to receive gifts.

"I've put it in God's hands now," she said. "I trust that God is going to take care of the need and more people are going to donate."

To help Jackson-George County Toys for Tots, call Diane Vice at 228-219-8303.