Spreading Christmas cheer
Published 10:11 pm Saturday, December 17, 2011
There was goodwill all over downtown Suffolk on Saturday as a local business owner and a motorcycle club gave back to their community.
Marcus “Boogie” Williams handed out 600 hams and 800 toys to families in need at his Family and Friends Lodge on White Marsh Road.
“I like giving back,” he said. “I like to see the smiles on the little kids’ faces. I like to put food on people’s tables.”
It was the eighth year of the Christmastime giveaway for Williams, who is the brother of LeOtis Williams, master of the annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaway.
Williams also served up hot dogs, potato chips and other refreshments to people who waited in line for the hams on Saturday afternoon.
The people who got hams had been chosen by Social Services and the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority to benefit from the assistance. Each carried a voucher they had received from the organization.
“We want people to see the good in what we do,” he said.
Just down the street, members of the Tiger Riders Motorcycle Club stood alongside East Washington Street waving toys and shouting “free toys for your kids.”
They had an event earlier in the day at the Suffolk National Guard Armory and gave out many of the 200 toys there. But they still had some left, so they took to the streets to hand them out.
Greg Roberts, the public relations officer for the club, said the toys were purchased with about $1,000 the club had raised through various fundraisers.
Last year, he said, the club gave the toys to a local shelter for abused women but decided that this method was a little more personal.
“It’s all about the community,” Roberts said.