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Enclosure #3 <br /> <br />Army helps save Christmas in Martinsville, VA <br /> <br />Martinsville corps officers Lieutenants Erik and Carol Nickell sort <br />through mountains of donated toys given to assist fanlilies fol- <br />lowing an unexpected sudden factory closing. <br /> <br />MARTINSVILLE, VA--On December 2, <br />1999 the Tultex Textile Corporation, <br />the largest employer in the Martinsville <br />area, announced it was Seeking bank- <br />ruptcy and was immediately closing its <br />factory. <br /> The plant dosing came with no <br />advance warning leaving 1,100 local <br />employees with no work and no imme- <br />diately available unemployment ben- <br />efits, with only a few weeks remaining <br />before Christmas. The news of a bleak <br />Christmas came at a time when the <br />national economy, according to news <br />reports, was surging ahead, and only <br />added to the sense Of anxiety experi- <br />enced by the textile workers and their <br />families. <br /> Later that week, Henry County pub- <br />lic information officer Tim Hall <br />encouraged residents to send dona- <br />tions of money, food or toys to the <br />Army as contributions to create a <br /> <br /> "Community Toy Store." <br /> The Toy Store opened <br /> as a result of a joint effort <br /> of the Army, local gov- <br /> ernment, social service <br /> agencies and businesses. <br /> An anonymous donor <br /> pledged $100,000 to sup- <br /> port the Army's Christ- <br /> mas work, and the Henry <br /> County Board of Supervi- <br /> sors agreed to match the <br /> gift. <br /> Nearly $100,000 in <br /> merchandise was col- <br /> lected with the help of <br /> 12 Salvation Army units <br /> in Virginia and other <br /> area donors. <br /> "The Salvation Army forces re- <br />sponded like a disaster team," says <br />commanding officer Lieutenant Erik <br />Nickell. Inside the Toy Store were <br />mountains of balls and dolls, skate- <br />boards, bikes and wagons. By the last <br />day of the project, just two days before <br />Christmas, 917 families received assis- <br />tance for the holiday, reaching 2,863 <br />people with food boxes and 1,431 <br />children with gifts. <br /> The Army continues to help the <br />displaced factory workers. As of Janu- <br />ary 12, $64,100 had been given to <br />unemployed textile workers to assist <br />them with utility bills, rent, medical <br />emergencies and other necessities. <br /> "The volunteer spirit of teachers, <br />the sheriff's department, other com- <br />munity organizations and citizens was <br />tremendous," says Nickell. "Everyone <br />gave their best., <br /> <br /> <br />