Dottie Pernell said she and her prayer partner, Magdalene Abraham, were sitting in the chapel at Locus Benedictus one day when she looked over and saw that Magdalene was crying.
“Mag said, ‘I wish we could think of a way to do something for children with special needs in this community.’
Pernell chuckled.
“I said, ‘That’s easy.’”
Thus was born Special Blessings, a committee of Greenwood volunteers who’ve dedicated themselves over the last several months to creating a Christmas Celebration for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in and around Greenwood.
“We’re starting small here,” Pernell said, referring to the Friday night and all-day Saturday event that filled the Catholic retreat center this weekend.
But there was nothing small about either the effort or the result of the committee’s careful planning and execution of the festive holiday event.
{{tncms-inline alignment="left" content="<p>The Special Blessings committee includes Magdalene Abraham, Erin Jacobs, Charlotte Dale, Janice Ford, Beth Stuckey, Marsha Gant, Stephanie Hernandez, Phyllis Hardin, Nancy Fortenberry and Dottie Pernell. The committee offers its thanks to the Presbyterian Women of First Presbyterian Church, Locus Benedictus and Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church for their support. Any individual, group, family member or organization interested in participating in or sponsoring future events can contact Pernell at 662-515-2807 or Fortenberry at 330-501-4555.</p>" id="b613bfc7-45a1-4df4-87bd-595a9a218d24" style-type="bio" title="Special Blessings" type="relcontent"}}
Eighteen attendees ranging in age from 2 to 24 were chosen to attend Special Blessings’ first event, and each was matched with a one-on-one volunteer who shadowed and assisted him or her all weekend.
“Many of the volunteers are retirees from the health-care field, or they were teachers, many of them in special education,” Pernell said.
Some participants were family, and others were friends the members of the committee knew and could recommend for the program.
On Friday night, volunteers in red Santa hats packed the main room at Locus Benedictus with activities swirling around a large and elaborately decorated Christmas tree.
J.T. Bailey watches as his special volunteer, Susan Smith, helps him assemble a noisemaker to accompany the singing of carols on Friday night.
Two attendees were in wheelchairs and required special medication. Registered nurses were on site to assist with their needs.
In the corner, volunteer musicians played the keyboard and guitar, leading the crowd in Christmas carols.
At a Lego station in the corner, several volunteers crouched on the floor with younger kids, patiently building and dismantling block structures.
At tables around the room, attendees strung bells on ribbon and made various instruments to accompany the carol singing.
Everywhere, people danced.
“We wanted them to have a safe place where they could come and be engaged in activities, and be accepted for who they are,” said Nancy Fortenberry, a member of the committee and the mother of James, one of the Special Blessings attendees.
James, 19, was born with a rare genetic condition that limited his intellectual development and left him with autistic behavioral characteristics. Happy and well-adjusted, he is well-known throughout the community.
Live music provided by volunteers fills the room with holiday spirit at the Special Blessings event.
Still, said Fortenberry, people such as James don’t often get invited to parties, and even less often have parties organized especially for them and their peers.
The week before the Friday night party, Fortenberry said, James was beside himself with excitement.
“He’s never gotten an invitation like this,” she said. “It’s the only thing on his social calendar.”
Fortenberry said one important part of the event was offering parents the opportunity for a few hours’ respite, knowing their children were tended by well-trained people who genuinely care about them.
“It’s really been overwhelming to see the support from these volunteers who are not doing it just to earn community service hours,” Fortenberry said.
“These are people who get it. James will be blessed by his relationship with these people.”
Saturday’s events included decorating Christmas cookies, a visit from Santa Claus, the assembly of special memory books with photographs of the weekend, and more crafts.
Volunteers and participants form a train around the room at the Special Blessings Christmas Celebration, held Friday night and Saturday at Locus Benedictus.
“I’m so excited,” said committee member Charlotte Dale. “I’m just like a little kid.” Dale planned a crafts project making bird feeders out of fuzzy pipe cleaners strung with Fruit Loops.
Abraham said the Special Blessings Christmas Celebration is just the beginning of what the committee hopes to accomplish in the future.
“We hope to start a support group for parents of special needs kids after the first of the year,” she said.
Also in the works is a Valentine’s Day dance and, depending on how everything progresses, possibly a day camp in the summer.
The Christmas Celebration will serve as a pilot event to evaluate what’s needed for things to go smoothly, before opening up future events to everyone in Greenwood with a family member meeting the criteria.
“We’re excited for what the future holds for this ministry,” Abraham said.
“All of these children have different special needs, but they are not limited as a child of God by any means.
“They are a special blessing to us.”
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
The Special Blessings committee includes Magdalene Abraham, Erin Jacobs, Charlotte Dale, Janice Ford, Beth Stuckey, Marsha Gant, Stephanie Hernandez, Phyllis Hardin, Nancy Fortenberry and Dottie Pernell. The committee offers its thanks to the Presbyterian Women of First Presbyterian Church, Locus Benedictus and Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church for their support. Any individual, group, family member or organization interested in participating in or sponsoring future events can contact Pernell at 662-515-2807 or Fortenberry at 330-501-4555.
