Family Volunteer Day

October 2, 2023

Family Volunteer Day 2023

THANK YOU TO OUR PRESENTING SPONSOR CHECK-MATE!

Families of all shapes and sizes – work, school, church, friends – are invited to Family Volunteer Day on Saturday, November 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Volunteer at project sites geared to strengthen bonds, create shared experiences, and lasting memories through community service. If you consider them family, so do we! Volunteering on your own? The more the merrier! We are all a part of one big, happy volunteering family!

Our volunteer opportunities will focus on veteran and active duty Service Members. Sign up to volunteer for one or more projects: Holidays For Heroes, donate to Hero Boxes, Nominate a Hero and more. Make it a full morning of service in honor of local military heroes.

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN. If you would like to register a group of 10 or more, please contact our office at (229) 226-5200 or email us.

To see pictures from other Family Volunteer Days, click here; or find more pics on Facebook.

Holidays for Heroes

DIY or In Person
All Ages
November 4, 9:30am-12:30pm

Make cards, posters and boxes to send to veterans and active duty service members.

Manna Drop

In Person
Ages 12+
November 4, 9:00am – Noon

Meet at the American Legion to sort, pack and distribute food staples to neighbors in need.

Site Full

Hero Boxes

DIY
All Ages
Through November 30

Donate care package items to send to veterans and active duty service members.

Requested Items

Nominate a Hero

Online
All ages
Through November 30

Tell us your favorite veteran or active duty member so we can send cards and care packages.

Nominate Now

Honor Local Veterans

In Person
All Ages
November 10 at 11 a.m.

Attend the annual Flag Ceremony at the Old Courthouse on Broad Street.

See You There!

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Make Care Packages

In Person
Ages 16+
December 9 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Help pack and mail care packages to deployed service men and women.

Register online to volunteer at any site on Family Volunteer Day,

and receive a free HOTC tshirt (Sizes as available. While supplies last).

Special thanks to these Diamond Level & above Sponsors, The Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation, and all of our donors and sponsors for making volunteer programs and events like these possible.

Mr. & Mrs.
Clint Kadel

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

December 14, 2022

Family Volunteer Day 2022 Recap

A big THANK YOU to our Family Volunteer Day 2022 Presenting Sponsor

Family Volunteer Day By the Numbers:

476 volunteers – 1021 service hours
1382 individuals served – 12 projects

It was a picture-perfect day as families of all sizes – work, school, church, friends – came together for Family Volunteer Day on Saturday, November 5. Many projects on this day honor our Veterans and Active Duty Service Members. In fact, this year, Family Volunteer Day kicked off an entire month-long celebration of our Military!

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PICTURES. BE SURE TO VISIT FACEBOOK FOR MORE!

Projects this year included:

Holidays for Heroes – Volunteers created more than 300 thank you cards and Christmas cards to distribute to Veterans in our local community, as well as to active duty service members away from their families this holiday season. Thank you to HOTC Board Vice-Chair, Tangela Hayes, for being our Veteran representative on this day!

Veterans Day Posters – Volunteers created more than 100 posters thanking Veterans for their service. More than 20 local businesses participated in this project by allowing volunteers to place the posters in their storefronts. What a way to come together to show community-wide support for those who served for our country!

Flag Repository – This is the first project of its kind for HOTC! We brought together representatives from the Allen-Cook Veterans of Foreign War Post 4995 and students from Rich Curtis’s class at Thomas University to design a patriotic flag repository. Citizens can bring their American flags to the repository – now located at the Veteran Services Office at 406 Smith Ave – so the VFW can properly retire the flags.

Flag Ceremony – The rain stopped just in time on November 11 for the annual Veteran’s Day Flag Ceremony at the Historic Courthouse. The flag repository was proudly unveiled at this ceremony by Allen-Cook Veterans of Foreign War Post 4995 Commander Greg Thweatt. In addition, more than 30 students from the Cross Creek K-Klub program and more than 10 students from TCCHS Key Club were present at the ceremony. The K-Klub students enjoyed parading around to show off their posters and handing out cards thanking Veterans for their service.

DID YOU KNOW?

Veterans from all major conflicts
from WWII to present were represented
at the flag ceremony at the
Historic Thomas County Courthouse!

VetFest – Presented by DogTagSS, this annual music festival raises money and awareness for Veteran services in South Georgia. Volunteers helped with event setup and breakdown, vendor assistance and more. You could also spot Holidays for Heroes posters at the entrance of the Exchange Club Fairgrounds!

Judy’s Heroes Collection Drive – Another first-time partnership for HOTC! We were delighted to team up with Brandy Kirkham this year to support her initiative – Judy’s Heroes – in honor of her mother, Judy Davis. Judy’s Heroes mails military care packages each December to active duty service members who are currently deployed. HOTC helped support Brandy’s efforts by promoting a month-long donation drive to collect items for care packages – more than 100 volunteers donated items to the drive!

Judy’s Heroes Boxes – As part of Holidays for Heroes, volunteers decorated the inside of the care package boxes with uplifting and patriotic messages. Many people included “Made with love in Thomasville, GA” messages on the boxes! As part of another project day, volunteers gathered at the Allen-Cook Veterans of Foreign War Post 4995 to stuff the care package boxes and prepare them for mailing. In all, more than 75 care packages were sent to active duty service members stationed both stateside and abroad!

From a 2022 Judy’s Heroes Boxes recipient: “I received your packages
and I would like to say I really appreciate your family…
sometimes it gets lonely or you need a reminder
why you joined the military in the first place, and things like this…
really remind you what you’re doing it for. Thank you for everything you all do.

Nominate a Hero – Yet, ANOTHER new project for HOTC this year! As a way to help Judy’s Heroes make local connections to deployed active duty service members, HOTC asked the community to submit names and mailing information for active duty service members and Veterans. We received more than 65 nominees to recognize!

Manna Drop – Brookwood School SGA and families in the community hosted a Manna Drop at Harper Elementary School. Nearly 300 neighbors in need received non-perishable items through this free food distribution event!

While “Family Volunteer Month” may now more accurately describe these community-wide acts of service that lasted all of November, the purpose of the projects remains the same – to honor and support our active duty service members and our Veterans. What greater tribute to these men and women than ensuring that the generations after them learn about and pay honor to the sacrifices they made.

Click to see full image! See more pics on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

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Special thanks to these Diamond Level & above Sponsors, The Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation, and all of our donors and sponsors for making volunteer programs and events like these possible.

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

October 25, 2022

Family Volunteer Day 2022

THANK YOU TO OUR PRESENTING SPONSOR CHECK-MATE!

Families of all shapes and sizes – work, school, church, friends – are invited to Family Volunteer Day on Saturday, November 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Volunteer at project sites geared to strengthen bonds, create shared experiences, and lasting memories through community service. If you consider them family, so do we! Volunteering on your own? The more the merrier! We are all a part of one big, happy volunteering family!

Our volunteer opportunities will focus on veteran and active duty Srvice Members. Sign up to volunteer for one or more projects: Holidays For Heroes, VetFest 2022, donate to Judy’s Heroes, and more. Make it a full morning of service in honor of local military heroes.

ONLINE REGISTRATION OPENS IN OCTOBER. Check back for more opportunities as the day draws closer. If you would like to register a group of 10 or more, please contact our office at (229) 226-5200 or email us.

To see pictures from other Family Volunteer Days, click here; or find more pics on Facebook.

Nominate A Hero
Online – Now through November 30.
Tell us your favorite veteran or active duty Service Member so we can send cards of thanks and/or care packages. Click here to make a nomination.

Send Judy’s Heroes Boxes
Help pack and mail care packages for service men and women. Click here to volunteer. Want to donate items for care packages, click here. We’ve extended the deadline for items to November 30!

Holidays for Heroes

DIY or In Person
For all ages!
9:30am-12:30pm

Make cards, posters, and decorate care packs.

Donate To The Drive

DIY
For all ages!
9:30am – 12:30pm

Give items to Judy’s Heroes for military care packages.

Download Info

Second Harvest

In Person
Ages 12+
9:00am – noon

Pack food boxes for disaster relief and neighbors in need.

Sorry, Site Closed

Manna Drop

In Person
Ages 10+
9:00 – noon

Distribute free food boxes to neighbors in need.

Volunteer

Volunteer at VetFest

In Person
Ages 10+
10:00am-7:00pm

Help with this annual event benefiting DogTagSS.

VFW Flag Box

In Person
Ages 12+
9:30am-12:30pm

Paint box to create flag repository for VFW.

THIS SITE IS FULL

Register online to volunteer at any site on Family Volunteer Day,

and receive a free HOTC tshirt (Sizes as available. While supplies last).

Can’t make it November 5?
Or want to do MORE to honor and support our veterans?

November 5 at noon
Attend VetFest benefiting DogTag Support Systems.

November 11 at 11am
Veterans Day Flag Ceremony at the Old Courthouse

December 3 at 9am
Pack and mail care packages for soldiers. Click here.

Special thanks to these Diamond Level & above Sponsors, The Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation, and all of our donors and sponsors for making volunteer programs and events like these possible.

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

November 9, 2020

Family Volunteer Day 2020 Recap

On Family Volunteer Day, families of all shapes and sizes, and volunteers of all ages and abilities are encouraged to come together to serve the community. Family Volunteer Day on November 7, 2020 focused on giving thanks to veterans. With Veterans Day on November 11, it seemed especially appropriate that we bring awareness to the commitment and sacrifice made by service men and women, and their families. SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PICTURES. BE SURE TO VISIT FACEBOOK FOR MORE!

Volunteer projects included:

American Red Cross Holidays For Heroes – Volunteers created handmade cards and wrote heartfelt letters which will be distributed to service men and women away from their families during the holidays.
Veterans Day Posters – Volunteers were invited to pick up a Grab & Go Kit to create a poster in honor of veterans and service to country which were then displayed by downtown businesses.

Big thanks to Thomasville Jeepers and TCCHS Key Club, as well as all the individuals and families who joined us!

DIY Veterans Day Car Parade – Typically, a city-sanctioned Veterans Day Parade through downtown Thomasville is on the agenda. With COVID concerns, events that attract crowds – including traditional parades – are discouraged. Inspired by recent car parades for graduations, birthdays, and other events which encourage social distancing celebrations, we decided to hold our own in honor of veterans. 40+ vehicles decorated with flags and posters participated in a route down Broad Street, then drove through three senior living facilities – Camellia Gardens, Legacy Village, and Southern Pines.

What an amazing feeling to bring and see such joy and gratitude on the faces and in the hearts of those who serve their country, and those who serve their community. Thank you veterans! Thank you volunteers!

Thank you to all of our donors, especially Diamond Level & above Sponsors Ashley HomeStore, New Hire Solutions, Mr. & Mrs. Russell Chubb, Ms. Diane W. Parker, Dr. & Mrs. Philip C. Watt, as well as The Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation for making programs and events like this possible.