Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on December 21, 2017.

“What color bow do you want?” Jean Woods asked a young shopper at the Perfect Gift Shop in downtown Floyd.  It was one week before Christmas Eve and there was a line of children, ages 4 – 16, outside the door waiting to shop. “We’ve had tourists we had to kick out,” Woods said.

The Perfect Gift Shop is a place where local children Christmas shop for family members and experience the joy of giving. Woods provided gift certificates to the New River Community Action Center and Plenty! who mailed them out to children of income qualifying families.  She conceived of the idea as way to cope with grief after losing her sister and other family members this past year.  With the help of volunteers, her idea was realized.

Gifts —clothing, toys, jewelry, art supplies, food items, sports equipment and more –  came from a variety of places and filled the space in The Station where the Floyd Democrats’ headquarters was recently located.

“We shopped at Angels in the Attic for gifts. I bought more than I probably will in the future,” the Floyd County resident said. The Mystic Witches, a performing dance group that raises funds to benefit charities around the county, volunteered to decorate and help with onsite shopping and gift wrapping.  Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target were big contributors that offered generous discounts for the cause, Woods said. “Office Depot did our printing at tremendous discounts, and some of the shops at The Station have helped.”

Woods reported that the response to the Perfect Gift shop has been positive and rewarding. “Children and their families have been very polite. They’ve all said ‘thank-you,’” she said.

She plans to copywrite the idea and build on this year’s success.  A January luncheon for volunteers will soon be scheduled to plan for next year. “Our plan is to put a book together on how people can do this everywhere,” Woods said.

When asked if her holiday giving venture has helped with her grief, she said, “It gives me something to think about.” She pulled out her sister’s charm from a necklace that she was wearing and said, “She’s with me every day.”  – Colleen Redman

Photos:  1. Jean Woods shares an exchange of smiles with a young Christmas shopper. 2. Toni Lamberti was one of the Mystic Witches dancers who helped with gift wrapping.  3. A young shopper inspects gifts on shelves that were constructed by Woods’ partner.  4. Jean Woods gives volunteer Abraham Martin a lesson in gift wrapping.  Martin’s mother came into the shop to donate some dolls. When Martin saw how busy the shop was, he offered to help.  5. A sign outside The Perfect Gift. 6. Tags on gifts were marked with color codes prices so that children could spend their $20 gift certificates wisely.