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Rescue Mission’s decor conveys sense of hope
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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Carol Perkins stands amidst Christmas Decorations at The Rescue Mission in Youngstown on Tuesday afternoon.
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
A kneeling Santa and Baby Jesus lay amidst Christmas Decorations at The Rescue Mission in Youngstown on Tuesday afternoon.
YOUNGSTOWN
The intricately decorated Christmas tree, fireplace and counters in the lobby are meant to welcome clients and visitors to the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley.
Clients say it reminds them of home — or the White House — or maybe Macy’s.
When they see the old sewing machine that is part of the display, they say, “Oh, my grandma or my mom had one of those.”
“When I hear that, I think, ‘Mission accomplished,’” said Carol Perkins, who combines imaginative decorating skills with her love of Christmas to decorate the lobby each Christmas.
“Christmas is my favorite holiday because that is when hope was born,” she said of the birth of Jesus. “The Rescue Mission stands for hope also,” she said.
The theme of this year’s display, “Cherish the Old Family Bible,” is personified by several Bibles, the oldest of which are from the 1800s, including one that belonged to her parents, the late Gilbert J. and Ella Jean McClaskey, and her grandfather, Gordon Bortz.
The lobby decorations include other personal items, such as a picture of Perkins’ parents from the 1940s. She said she is focusing on honoring the life of her father, who died in February of this year.
Perkins, 56, of Austintown, also enjoys the secular side of Christmas.
One piece from her collection of kneeling Santas can be seen in front of the fireplace in the Rescue Mission lobby, and she dresses up as Santa Claus and gives out “corny” gifts along with the “real meaning” of Christmas.
In fact, this year for her birthday, she asked for a new beard and wig and belt for her Santa costume, which her husband, Charles L. Perkins, gave to her.
Charles served in the Army and then had a career as a criminal investigator with the Internal Revenue Service. Since retiring from the IRS, he has worked for the Trumbull County Probate Court in Warren.
Carol chose to be a stay-at-home mom when her children were growing up. The Perkinses have three sons, Gregory in California, Steven in Virginia, and Jonathan, a sophomore at Liberty University in Virginia; and three grandchildren.
Now, she said, she has time to pursue other interests, such as volunteering at the Rescue Mission and Wilson Middle School in Youngstown and creating the Africa Health and Hope Mission, a 501(c)(3) organization.
Carol said going to Africa was a childhood dream, and now she has been to Africa nine times working in the bush with the Maasai Tribe in Kenya in East Africa’s semi-arid and arid lands.
The focus of Africa Health and Hope is to raise money to drill wells in areas where children have to walk six miles for water every day. The deeper the aquifer, the more money it costs to drill the well, said Carol, who is a member of Old North Church in Canfield where she is involved in its Golden Heirs group for seniors.
When a well is drilled, a church goes up, and a school follows, said Perkins, who said her Africa Health and Hope Mission was “placed upon me in a dream given by God,” as she pointed upward.
For the Rescue Mission lobby display, Carol collects ribbons, dolls and ornaments and borrows things throughout the year to find just the right decorations for the clients staying at the mission to enjoy.
“Since I’ve been here, I have seen the broken lives. I try to put myself in their shoes. I want people who come into the lobby to feel welcome and valued and special,” she said.