Times Free Press photo by Mark Kennedy / Tamara, left, and Chris Martin, of East Brainerd, have started a drive to share holiday gifts with children at four urban schools.What began as an East Brainerd family's quiet decision to share their Christmas has become much more.
Chris Martin, 42, a lawn service entrepreneur, and his wife Tamara, 33, a U.S. Xpress Inc. employee, have organized a drive to purchase holiday presents for inner-city families including some households with up to 10 children.
They have attracted donations from individuals, charities and professional organizations for a push they are calling Excellence Over Excuses.
They've also partnered with We Over Me Chattanooga, a grassroots philanthropic group with dozens of corporate sponsors, for financial assistance and help to process donations.
"This is a total faith move," Chris Martin said. "We realized: 'Why would we dial back God's plan?'"
The couple, who met at church, said they were moved by gun violence and the COVID-19 pandemic to look for ways to establish relationships with struggling families in the inner city.
"We've always been big on serving the community," Chris said. "We do things all the time that we feel we have been called to do."
Originally, the two said they simply wanted to scale back on gift-giving in their own family to share with others, but soon friends stepped up to say they wanted to help, too.
"People wanted to jump on board," Tamara said. "So we said, 'OK, let's make it a community kind of thing.'"
Both have a history of helping. Chris has been a mentor to inner-city teens, and Tamara leads a support group for young mothers.
"We both are [former] inner-city kids," Chris says. "With the outbreaks of violence over the course of the last 10 years, we found ourselves saying: 'Man, that's so sad.' 'Man, I can't believe that happened.' 'Man, I think somebody should do something.'
"But instead of sitting on the sideline saying what was wrong, we wanted to try other solutions."
The Martins reached out to four schools, Bess T. Shepherd Elementary, Woodmore Elementary, Dalewood Elementary and the Washington Alternative Learning Center to identify families in need.
Then they asked the families to fill out forms with their children's ages, clothes and shoe sizes and gift preferences. The Martins said money will be used first to purchase necessities such as clothes and shoes. Any remaining funds will be used for toys, they said.
While funding might be modest this year, the Martins say this is just the beginning. They eventually hope to establish relationships (and possibly mentorships) within these families.
"To be honest, the resources do not match the need," Chris said. "I didn't realize so many families are still falling through the cracks."
"It's overwhelming how many people need the help," Tamara said. "It's not just about the gifts. It's about having people in the community who care."
To contact the organizers of the Excellence Over Excuses gift drive, write to eoechattanooga@gmail.com.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com.