It will be a merrier Christmas this year for many families in the Atmore area thanks to the giving spirit of the Progressive Civic and Recreation Club.

As a crowd lined up in Houston Avery Park, members of the PCRC spent Wednesday afternoon distributing nearly 100 boxes of food to local families who are in need during this year’s holiday season. Each box contained everything needed to prepare a traditional Christmas dinner, including a plump turkey.

PCRC Chairman Cornell Torrence said this is the first year the organization has been able to provide the generous service, but he hopes it is only the first of many more to come.

“We wanted to do it around Thanksgiving but we just weren’t able to,” Torrence said. “We covered 80 families and we wish we could have done more.”

PCRC members not only collected, organized and distributed the food Wednesday, but also provided curb side service, loading the boxes into the vehicles of elderly or disabled residents.

Torrence said the day was a huge success that would not have been possible without the community’s help.

“A few good people helped the PCRC with their turkey drive,” Torrence said. “We would like to recognize Ricky Johnson, Anthony King, Connie Torrence-King, Dr. William T. Hall, Dr. Jonah McIntyre, the Escambia County Training School classes of 1962 and 1963, Atmore Realty, First National Bank and Trust and Patty Helton-Davis.”

Torrence added the PCRC is also very appreciative to the community for the donations given to help support their program.

“The PCRC would like to give a big thank you for your generous donations,” he said. “It has helped to make Christmas merrier for a lot of people.”