Day 5 – Project Impact 2021

The last day of summer service camp is always bittersweet. On the one hand, we are all exhausted from our week of projects, tired of the heat and humidity, and ready to be done with the hard work we face every day. On the other hand, we have had such fun,  felt a sense of satisfaction from our many accomplishments, grown to appreciate each other, and well, we are going to miss our volunteer friends and our time doing good things together.

Scroll down for pictures!

Friday’s theme was Youth Outreach. We spent the entire day making friends at The Vashti Center which provides support and resources to kids and families in crisis. You never know what someone may be going through – physically, mentally, or spiritually. We are blessed to have such amazing organizations to address these needs in our community.

We were privileged to be able to spend the day getting to know some of the kids from the Vashti Resiliency Clubhouse – Ventures & Connections. We started off with a morning on the Low Ropes Team Building Course – a series of elements that requires teamwork and group strategizing to complete. We accomplished the:

• Whale Watch – a raft-shaped see-saw which teams have to balance off the ground for 10 seconds
• Nitro – a swinging rope requiring teams to transfer members into specific places on one side, then get them safely back to the original side
• and, Mohawk – a tight-wire that all team members needed to traverse while connected together.

They were a challenge, but one our combined group was up for! Some of our takeaways from the course:

• Think outside of the box
• Everything requires balance
• Together, we can do so much more!

These are ideas that were definitely pertinent on the course but are also great to remember in everyday life.

We then enjoyed a cookout thanks to HOTC Board Member Jason Harpe (and Publix, and Flowers Foods) who served hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and drinks. We were also treated to Banks Italian Ices thanks to incoming Board Member Roderick Banks. We are so appreciative of our Board Members for all they do to support HOTC programs and events.

After lunch, we joined longtime volunteer and Thomas University Associate Professor of Art Rich Curtis to paint murals in the health clinic. Armed with paintbrushes and Vashti colors, we brightened up the clinic hallways with butterflies, flowers, and greenery to complement the organization motif.

We enjoyed our time together, and look forward to completing more amazing volunteer projects with youth in the community soon. Thank you so much to all of the parents, partners, and campers for making youth service a priority in this community.

THANK YOU to all of our sponsors, volunteers, non-profits, and groups who support our volunteer events and programs, especially  Diamond Level (and above) Sponsors Ashley HomeStore, New Hire Solutions, Mr. & Mrs. Russell Chubb, Mr. & Mrs. Howell L. Ferguson, Ms. Diane W. Parker, and Dr. & Mrs. Philip C. Watt; as well as the Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation for helping to make youth programs like this possible.