Chris Purcell recently celebrated his 25th Anniversary as an employee of Hallmark. Chris asked those invited to his anniversary celebration to donate books to charity, in lieu of giving him gifts. The Hallmark employees who organized the celebration checked with the Mission as to what type of books would be accepted and passed that information on to Chris's friends.

On September 7, Chris delivered about 150 new and used books for the Mission to appropriately distribute. Some books will become gift choices at the Presents of Love, the Mission's free Christmas store for income-qualified families. Some will be added to the small Mission libraries for use by shelter guests, program clients, and staff. Others may be used as graduation gifts for our recovery program clients. These are just some of the ways the books will be distributed.

City Union Mission thanks Chris for this unselfish way to celebrate 25 long years of working at his job. Another big thank you is extended to all those who donated books to fulfill Chris' wish. May God bless you all.