Mom, daughter work to keep others warm By Meryl Dillman Anderson Independent-Mail December 25, 2005

Muriel Harper brought a smile to more than 200 people Sunday morning. Just after 10:30 a.m., the 10-year-old and her mom, Beverly Harper, carted three Christmas gift bags and a basket full of gloves and stocking hats into Haven of Rest Ministries in Anderson. "We got a little over 200 pairs of gloves," Muriel said, after she set everything down. Muriel said they had men's, women's and children's gloves and about 50 black stocking hats to hand out. This was the third time the two had come to Haven of Rest Ministries on Christmas to help distribute food and drinks to those who came to eat. Last year, they thought of another way to help. "Last year, people brought in some vests to hand out, but people also wanted gloves," Muriel said. "So, we went and bought some." Muriel and her mom said they went to Walgreens last Christmas and bought all the gloves they had, which was about 150 pairs, and gave them out. Once they saw how much people appreciated them, they decided to do it again this year. Ms. Harper, 50, said she collected gloves and donations from co-workers at Century 21 Real Estate all year. She also received donations from other local Realtors. Ms. Harper said wanting to help people isn't out of the ordinary for her daughter. "When we go out somewhere, she will give her money to others," Ms. Harper said. "She will say, 'Mom, they need it more than I do.' " Ms. Harper said just last week Muriel placed part of her Christmas money in a Salvation Army donation kettle. Just after 11 a.m. Sunday, Muriel and Ms. Harper made their way through a group of adults standing outside the building, waiting to get their heaping plate of turkey, cranberry sauce, green beans and stuffing. As the two handed out black hats and blue, red and green gloves, smiles never left their faces. Anthony Nance, 45, was one of the men who received a pair of gloves. He said he appreciated what the Harpers had done for him. After distributing some gloves and hats outside, Muriel and her mom headed inside. Parents and children waited in line to go into a room with a large, sparkling Christmas tree that had piles of presents underneath. As Muriel moved down the line, children crowded around her, picking out which pair of gloves they wanted. Nancy Crouch and her two children, Hope, 9, and Faith, 5, received gloves from Muriel and Ms. Harper. "Anything to help keep them (her children) warm I appreciate," Ms. Crouch, 27, said. "It's real nice of them." After about 15 minutes, all the hats were taken and the gloves were nearly gone. Ms. Harper continued to circulate with remaining pairs, while Muriel joined a group that was passing out food and drinks. As she held three glasses of tea, Muriel thought about how her day had gone so far. "I think it went good because they were all very thankful for the gloves," she said. "Next year, we're going to try to get at least 500 (pairs of gloves)."