DOBSON, N.C. — Residents of Central Care in Mount Airy got an early Christmas delivery in December when members of Surry-Yadkin EMC’s Employee Engagement and Community Projects committees came together to provide a special gift.
The Employee Engagement Committee (EEC) had coordinated employees from several departments to visit residents earlier in 2025. Employees and residents of Central Care, an assisted living care home on Rockford Street south of I-74 interchange, enjoyed playing Bingo, painting crafts and more. While there, the SYEMC employees recognized other needs at the home and wanted to do something nice for the residents at Christmas.
The committee partnered with the Community Projects Committee (CPC) to brainstorm ideas and coordinate fundraising from Surry-Yadkin Electric employees. Knowing how much the residents enjoy sitting on the front porch, the group decided to raise money to purchase rocking chairs.
It was suggested that the carpentry classes at local high schools be contacted to see if they could build 10 rocking chairs. West Stokes and North Surry high schools stepped up in a big way. Surry-Yadkin employees donated the money to purchase the needed supplies, and students at the two high schools, supervised by instructors Brad Collins (NSHS) and Jeff Robertson (WSHS), built the rocking chairs — five from each high school.
On Dec. 19, the committees surprised the residents with the rocking chairs, setting them up on their front porch so they could use them to enjoy the outdoors and watch the traffic along Rockford Street. The residents immediately put them to use. Little did the residents know that the real gift was the smile on their faces … something money can’t buy.
