Mayors from across southeast Georgia joined forces in Savannah on Wednesday to brighten the holidays for those in need as part of the 57th annual Mayors’ Christmas Motorcade.

Mayors from dozens of cities in the region gathered at the National Guard Armory on Eisenhower Drive this morning, bringing with them gifts donated by citizens of their communities. The mayors then traveled motorcade-style to Georgia Regional Hospital, where their gifts were unloaded and distributed to deserving patients.

The Mayors’ Christmas Motorcade was started in 1958 by the Georgia Municipal Association at the request of then- Governor Ernest Vandiver as a way of providing holiday gifts for the patients of Georgia’s mental health and retardation hospitals. The program is aimed at raising awareness of the needs of Georgia’s mental hospitals.

There are currently seven regional mental hospitals in the state, serving some 3,200 Georgians. Many of these clients have lived in the hospital facility for much of their lives and receive little, if any, support from their families. Without the Mayors’ Christmas Motorcade, many of their clients would not receive a gift for the holidays.