Merry and Bright

It’s the Holidays, Y’all!

By Lisa Burwell

I love the holidays, but this year I feel like they just can’t get here fast enough. Suggestions of sitting in front of the fireplace, baking cookies and pies, getting together with family, putting up the Christmas tree, shopping for gifts, and even wrapping them seem better than ever before. I think it may be the result of a year filled with many ups and downs that have included recent natural disasters like Hurricane Michael and the fire in Paradise, California, where both wiped out entire towns and a way of life for so many. I want to celebrate and be thankful for what I have but also to share compassion for those who have lost so much. I said this before, and I will say it again: it could have been us, and it could have been you.

In the spirit of Christmas, giving to your family is great, but giving to those you don’t know who are in need sounds even better this year. As a result of the growing need in our community, we have established the VIE Foundation, a charitable organization whose purpose is to support disaster relief, humanitarian aid, or peace missions for the distressed and needy. It will also award financial assistance to noteworthy individuals, companies, or other organizations that show outstanding philanthropy, thereby benefiting humankind and the local community.

To kick off our fund-raising efforts and community esprit de corps, VIE will sponsor the inaugural Logan Lane Holiday Block Party on Thursday, December 6, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. It will be complete with a holiday shopping walkabout, a tree-lighting ceremony, a toy drive for Toys for Tots, an arts and crafts market, a silent auction, Christmas carolers from Emerald Coast Theatre Company, s’mores around a campfire, and much more!

A portion of the proceeds from all the participating vendors and all donations from the evening will benefit the VIE Foundation to aid relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Michael through The Sonder Project. Thank you to our sponsors—Clark Partington Attorneys at Law, Eloquent Signs, Grand Bay Construction, LLC, The Idea Boutique, Mingle, and Rent Gear Here.

Please join us at the Logan Lane Holiday Block Party and ring in some Christmas cheer with us.

To Life!

—Lisa Marie Burwell

— V —

Parking for the Logan Lane Holiday Block Party will be located across County Road 283 in the public lot. This event is free and open to the public! Visit Facebook.com/VIEmagazine and check out our Events page for more information. If you can’t make it but would still like to give, you can donate online at www.VIEfoundation.gives.