Pitt County Health Department and Greenville Fire/Rescue host holiday events

PITT COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - Holiday cheer continues to be spread across Eastern Carolina in several different ways.

Social workers and counselors from Pitt County schools marched into Greenville Fire Station Six to pick up toys, not for themselves but for the less fortunate.

Nina Plowman was one of the many social workers in attendance. “I serve the Farmville schools and so I got a lot of families that need the help during Christmas because of financial reasons,” Plowman said.

The event was thanks to the 24th annual Pitt County Operation Santa Claus.

Pitt County Schools, Salvation Army, and Greenville Fire/Rescue partnered to make this possible. Greenville Fire Chief, Carson Sanders, was one of the event organizers.

“At the end of the day we’re all public servants,” Sanders said. “I think the sense of community that Greenville has, has the ability to give back and help each other.”

Just down the road, folks hopped on a small train at the Pitt County Health Department’s first Jolly Jamboree.

But that wasn’t the only fun attraction. There were reindeer rides, crafts, and even the Pitt County Health Director, Dr. John Silvernail, dressed as a conductor to read to the kids.

“We know the past two years we weren’t able to do this because of COVID,” Silvernail said. “We really wanted to do something to give back to the community to engage with one another.”

Speaking of COVID-19, Dr. Silvernail says the CDC stated 91% of Americans have had it. That’s good news when it comes to having a safe holiday gathering.

“So there’s a lot of natural immunity in the community,” Silvernail said. We also have a lot of vaccine produced immunity out there. Of course, we do encourage good hand hygiene that helps with a lot of infections. And if you’re sick please stay home.”

Pitt County Operation Santa Claus is also hosting a concert at Reimage Church on the Dec.19.

Tickets are $20.00 at the door and the money goes toward the less fortunate

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