Tommy and Ryan Norris at Toyota of Easley put their money where their mouth is last week and showed substantial leadership in community support.

Toyota of Easley donated $23,000 to help hungry an homeless folks in Pickens County. Specifically they donated $100 per car sold in May and arranged a corporate donation from Toyota to the Pickens County soup kitchen Shine.

Shine has two projects going now to help its clientele. For the hungry, Shine hopes to create a series of meal distribution points at churches in rural parts of the county and make all the meals at a commercial kitchen it hopes to establish in the former Liberty Middle School. Toyota of Easley’s donation will help make that a reality.

Shine also wants to establish Family Promise, a system of providing homeless families a place to stay and a site for helping them receive training and assistance toward getting a job to put them back on their. Toyota of Easley’s donation will help that effort along the way.

The economy recently has been tough. Many families in Pickens, have lost their livelihoods and homes. More than 1,400 Pickens school children are homeless.

If large numbers of people are out of work, fewer people are buying cars and that makes business more difficult for Tommy and Ryan Norris. But they are thankful for what they have received, thankful for the support they have gotten from the community. They are giving back to the community and challenging the rest of u local businesses to do the same.

That is leadership.

We are supportive of Shine’s efforts and will continue letting you know about progress on the two major projects.

We will certainly be happy to report on donations to the project. We are all better off if our neighbors are fed and have jobs to keep a roof over the heads of family