Santa's sleigh is a Wal-Mart truck

Boxes of brightly colored board games will are headed for children affected by Hurricane Katrina thanks to the efforts of faculty, staff and students at Pittsburg State University. Santa (A.K.A. Dr. Chuck Killingsworth), with the help of Dr. Dan Ferguson and students in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, loaded the games on a Wal-Mart truck on Dec. 7 and sent them on their way.

Killingsworth, a member of the faculty in HPER, said the unusual collection grew out of an e-mail message he received from a southern colleague following the hurricane.

“The collection of Board Games for Bored Kids began at an elementary school in Mobile, Ala.,” Killingsworth said. “The thought was that all of these displaced children needed some activities that would be fun and would brighten their lives just a bit.”

Killingsworth said the idea appealed to him and he offered it to the students and the wider campus community. Several large boxes of games, stuffed animals, puzzles and other toys were collected, Killingsworth said, and Wal-Mart agreed to deliver the lot for free. The games are going to the Baton Rouge, La., Parks and Recreation Commission. Killingsworth said that Baton Rouge has large numbers of hurricane evacuees and the games can be put to good use there.

“It may not be a large thing,” Killingsworth said, “but it is just one more small thing we can do to help people who have such great need.”

---Pitt State---