GOOD NEWS: Packers wrap a lot of gifts at CSU party

Photo provided.

Staff reports  |  Charleston Southern University students packed 1,823 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child at CSU’s 6^th annual packing party last week.

CSU Dean of Students Clark Carter said he believed the event is popular with students for two reasons:  “First, who doesn’t love Christmas?  Most students are excited about the holidays approaching, and this is a way to take their minds off of exams and papers for a few hours and think about Christmas.  Second, who doesn’t want to help a child?  We were all kids once, and we know how important it is to have a gift at Christmas and to know that someone cares about us and loves us.

At the packing party, students weave in and out of the aisles of the college’s chapel, selecting toys, school supplies and necessities such as soap and toothpaste, hand packing each box one by one.

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse and makes Christmas gifts possible for millions of children around the world each year. For many of these children, it is the first gift they have ever received.

In other good news:

Welcome, DASH(er):  CARTA welcomed a new reindeer – the DASH Downtown Shuttle – last week as the new way for people to get around downtown.  A fleet of seven new DASH shuttles replaced seven trolleys on Dec. 1 as a free way to move around the peninsula.  Officials say they’re quieter, more comfortable and meet current emission standards.  Learn more.

Joe Engel Street:  The city of Charleston on Nov. 30 dedicated Joe Engel Street in honor of Holocaust survivor, a longtime Charleston resident.  The street is located off Carolina Street off Upper King Street near the Interstate 26 off-ramp.  According to the city, Engel lived in Zakroczym, Poland in 1939, when the Nazis occupied Poland. He endured a ghetto, concentration camps and the death march of Auschwitz before escaping from a cattle train in 1945. After the war ended, he immigrated to Charleston, where his vision helped lead to the construction of the Holocaust Memorial.  More.

New online holiday store:  Former Charleston Currents editor Ann Thrash has opened an online store on Etsy to sell her holiday line of hand-made scarves, pillows and more.  Check it out – you just might find a vivid holiday pillow that you want to brighten your room.  Click here to find the store.