Although Easter may be two weeks away, it wasn't too early for Peter Cottontail to hop into the Blackmon Road community.
About 20 children from the area were all smiles and cheer when they were given Easter baskets Saturday morning by volunteers with A Place for Hope, a private, nonprofit group based in Pineville, N.C.
"It's got special stuff in it," said fourth-grader Britiany Gullatt to her cousins.
"I see y'all," yelled 3-year-old Raheam Jennings, as he tried on his new pair of sunglasses.
The Easter baskets contained items such as crayons, pencils, coloring books, markers, cars and bubble makers. The baskets were made by A Place for Hope volunteers, said the group's founder Donna McLaughlin.
For decades, Blackmon Road has been a magnet for York County's poor. About 30 families live in the neighborhood, which lies at the end of a dirt road off S.C. 72, less than two miles from downtown Rock Hill. Many residents are squatters who live in crumbling shacks or old school buses with no indoor plumbing or electricity.
While the children tore into their Easter baskets, Cliff Gullatt watched his son's face as he played with his new toys.
"It means a lot to me," Gullatt said. "I'm glad people care enough to do this."
"It means a lot to me, too," said Pattie Roseboro. "It gives them a whole lot of love and a lot of hope. It's more easier to help these kids when you got help. They've got something to hold onto now."
Community center coming
Just down the road, bulldozers could be heard leveling land for a new community center at the corner of Archer Drive and Blackmon Road.
A Place for Hope is planning a center for the community and is leasing the five-acre property free of charge.
The 2,100-square-foot building will be used to house after- school programs, as well as tutoring and job training services.
About 100 truckloads of dirt were delivered to the site Friday, said Mike Sears, one of the volunteers.
Sears, who is employed by A. Watts in Rock Hill, said he is working at a Manchester Village construction site and that some of the dirt there had to be moved. After making a few phone calls, Sears said he was able to get a local trucking company to haul the dirt to Blackmon Road.
"It's definitely the Lord's will for all of this to be happening," Sears said.
While a number of private individuals, churches and agencies have tried over the years to help the neighborhood, the Rev. Danny Walker, who lives in the community, said he will continue his ministry there.
"Coming here and seeing these conditions and the poverty, that is my motivation, and God reminds me of it," Walker said.
Contact Tamara Ford at 329-4067 or tford@heraldonline.com.
The Easter baskets contained items such as crayons, pencils, coloring books, markers, cars and bubble makers. The baskets were made by A Place for Hope volunteers, said the group's founder Donna McLaughlin.
For decades, Blackmon Road has been a magnet for York County's poor. About 30 families live in the neighborhood, which lies at the end of a dirt road off S.C. 72, less than two miles from downtown Rock Hill. Many residents are squatters who live in crumbling shacks or old school buses with no indoor plumbing or electricity.
Sears, who is employed by A. Watts in Rock Hill, said he is working at a Manchester Village construction site and that some of the dirt there had to be moved. After making a few phone calls, Sears said he was able to get a local trucking company to haul the dirt to Blackmon Road.