The Roanoke-Chowan area demonstrated a generous Christmas spirit this December.

The Murfreesboro Police Department provided gifts and brought Santa along to deliver them to seven very happy children at Riverview Elementary School earlier this month. The special needs students at Riverview received a fun surprise when Santa Claus visited their classroom and the dedicated officers from Murfreesboro brought a bag full of toys for each student.

Local citizens and businesses donated money to help buy the toys for the children.

The toys and learning center games not only provide some fun for these inspiring children, but also help the children improve their language and academic skills.

&uot;Our children are truly blessed to have friends like these,&uot; Riverview Special Needs teacher Rhonda Jones said.

Subway got into the Christmas spirit by donating lunch for the students, teachers and officers.

Nucor Steel partnered with Hertford County’s Office on Aging to cook and deliver turkey dinners to older and homebound adults in the community. The hardworking people over at Nucor have taken time out of their busy schedule every year since the steel mill opened in 2000 to provide these meals.

&uot;This is a wonderful program,&uot; Office on Aging and Ahoskie Mayor Linda Blackburn commented. &uot;Nucor has been a great member of the community.&uot;

Not only does Nucor provide quality jobs and a safe workplace, supporting those in need is also a priority for the company.

The Ahoskie Christian Center teamed up with local businesses, the Post Office and CADA to collect and distribute winter coats to the needy this Christmas season. The donated coats filled every inch of a CADA truck, displaying the generosity of those thinking of the less fortunate.

The Higher Ground Pentecostal Holiness Church in Ahoskie partnered with Central Ford and Classic Rentals to collect and deliver toys to the youngest victims of Hurricane Katrina. Several members of the church made multiple trips to Louisiana and Mississippi to deliver the toys to the hurricane ravaged states. Some members also traveled south to repair and rebuild houses and plan to return in the future.

I covered or photographed these examples of Christmas spirit, but they only provide a small glimpse of the wealth of generosity displayed by the people of the Roanoke-Chowan community this Christmas season.