hotcpi2022

August 4, 2022

Last Week of Summer Outreach!

Welcome to one of several summer 2022 Project Impact Outreach recaps from our Project Impact ROI intern. Project Impact ROI is an annual program designed to engage local high-school seniors and college-age students in community service, and expand our SHOTC youth summer programming and outreach. In return, the intern gains valuable leadership experience, credit hours (if applicable), and a monetary award. Know a student (18+) who would make a great intern candidate for Project Impact ROI? Click here for information.

My name is Ella Millere, and I am the 2022 Hands On Thomas County Impact ROI intern. I graduated from Thomasville High School and am currently a rising second year at the University of Virginia studying leadership and public policy. I see this summer as an opportunity to connect with my hometown and to build lasting relationships within the community. Thanks for following along on my intern and volunteer adventures.

SCROLL DOWN FOR PICTURES! FIND MORE ON OUR INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK

I’m sad to say that my summer of outreach is coming to an end. And what a great last week of volunteering it was! Although the week got off to a rocky start with weather cancellations, we finished off strong with two final projects. On Tuesday, the Boys and Girls Club and I visited Thomasville’s very own Pollinator Garden. Then, we closed out the week on Friday with Vashti at Scott Senior Center.

The Pollinator Garden is located right next to the Rose Garden at Cherokee Lake and is full of native plants that are planted in the shape of a butterfly. These plants are where many butterflies lay their eggs, and each type of butterfly only lays its eggs on a specific plant. Before volunteering, we had the incredible opportunity to learn all about pollinators and our area’s native plants from Ms. Beth Grant. Then, we got right to working hard, weeding the area, and spreading mulch all throughout the garden. It was hot, sweaty, hard work, but these kids did a great job and persevered to get it done!

For my very last summer youth project, I was lucky to be able to take one final visit to Scott Senior Center. Half a dozen boys from Vashti greeted the seniors as they came in and helped pass out coffee and breakfast. It is always a joy to see how happy young people can make the seniors, but also how much youth enjoy getting to spend time with them. This time, we played BINGO together – always a crowd favorite. We were engaged in almost every way, from calling out the Bingo numbers, to handing out prizes and helping the senior center attendees play.

As always, we were sad when it was time to leave. During our closing discussion, many of the boys shared interesting stories or things they had learned from talking to the seniors. This is always by far my favorite part of the youth volunteer projects. I love getting to hear what the youth get out of it and what parts they enjoy the most.

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.

August 4, 2022

Summer Youth Outreach – Week 3

SCROLL DOWN FOR PICTURES! FIND MORE ON OUR INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK

This week was all about the animals! From domestic to wild, each youth organization this week got the chance to help or work with animals.

Both the Boys and Girls Club and Vashti got to go to Hands and Hearts for Horses, a therapeutic riding center for people of all ages with physical and intellectual disabilities. Through hippotherapy, riders can enhance their motor skills and compassionate thinking skills.

Starting off on Monday, youth from the boy’s cottage at Vashti helped out with Hands and Hearts’ kids camp and spent time doing barn chores. The boys really enjoyed interacting with the kids at camp, as they played games with the kids while the kids were on horses. Some of the youth were a little afraid of the horses at first, but they quickly warmed up and had loads of fun. After playing warm-up games with the kids at camp, we got right to work in the barn, where we scooped lots of poop from stalls and raked up the main section of the barn. These boys got the barn chores done in record time and are definitely some of the most hard-working people I know!

The next day at Hands and Hearts, The Boys and Girls Club enjoyed hanging out with the goats the most. After grooming the sensory trail by removing all branches and pinecones and raking it clean, the kids got to get in the goat pen and interact with them. We learned that the stereotype of goats eating anything is 100% true! While we were feeding them pieces of grass and leaves, one of the goats tried to eat a girl’s hair! Next, we got to work in the barn, scooping up poop from the stalls and filling in holes with wood shavings. And of course, we were able to pet several horses along the way!

On Friday, I met youth from The Clubhouse onsite to do a project serving three different kinds of animals. First, we made dog toys out of old T-shirts for dogs at the Humane Society. Many of the kids learned how to braid for the first time making the toys! Then, we made cat toys from old pill bottles to take to cats at Miss Kitty’s Feline Sanctuary. Lastly, we made Cheerios bird feeders to hang on trees around the Vashti campus for native birds to feed on. Usually, when we think about helping animals in need, we first think of rescue animals or strays. But sometimes, we need to help the animals that live right in our own backyards.

Overall, this was a very rewarding week for me, as the kids really seemed to enjoy each activity we did and expressed lots of interest in returning to volunteer with these organizations again.

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.

August 4, 2022

Outreach 2022 – Week 1

SCROLL DOWN FOR PICTURES! FIND MORE ON OUR INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK

We kicked off the first week of Project Impact Outreach with the Boys and Girls Club, taking a great group of students to Second Harvest where we packaged almost 150 food boxes for families in need! Second Harvest of South Georgia is an organization that collects donated food and sells it at discounted prices to food banks, soup kitchens, and various non-profits. While some donations come from individuals, the majority of food comes in as surplus from area grocery stores like Walmart and Kroger. While spending an hour in a warehouse packing food may sound boring, these kids had a blast! We formed an assembly line and had fun stacking cans of food, pushing the boxes along the wheels, and using giant packing tape. It seems like the boys sealing the boxes had the most fun! One volunteer enjoyed the project so much he asked about working at Second Harvest when he’s older! We wrapped up the morning with a quick tour of the warehouse, weighing our entire group on an industrial sized scale and even going inside a walk-in freezer at a temperature of -24 degrees. That was NOT my favorite part! This was an amazing first outreach project, introducing volunteer work to some students and allowing others to continue giving back to their community.

On Friday, I met up with some of the Vashti Ventures and Connections Clubhouse kids to volunteer at one of my new favorite places in Thomasville: Scott Senior Center! After having visited this daytime activity center for seniors during Project Impact camp the week before, I was excited to return and introduce youth from the Clubhouse to some familiar faces. When we first arrived, the volunteers welcomed attendees and got them cups of water and coffee. It can be difficult to make conversation with strangers, but the group quickly warmed up and made new friends along the way. The seniors were so excited to get to chat with young people and see their smiling faces. Ladies from Zeta Amicae chapter were hosting a paint’n’sip for the folks at Scott Senior Center, so we had a great time helping them create beautiful, flowered works of art and even getting to paint a little ourselves. Afterwards, all the students said how much they enjoyed it, and that they would love to go back in the future!

I closed out the first week of outreach with an awesome mini service project at Thomasville’s 3rd Annual Juneteenth Festival. Originating in Texas, Juneteenth marks the day that enslaved laborers in Galveston learned the news of the Emancipation Proclamation. As part of Thomas County Rocks, attendees created more than 50 beautiful rocks that they planned to hide in parks and around their own neighborhoods. These were not just any rocks, though; they were rocks created to help spread awareness about Juneteenth. If you find one around town, post it on social media with the hashtag. It was a wonderful day of seeing old friends and meeting many more new ones.

Overall, this week was a great way to start my summer of outreach. I enjoyed spending time with kids from each of the youth organizations and can’t wait to see them to volunteer again soon!

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.

June 12, 2022

Service Camp Day 5

We did it! Our goal this week is to complete a service project in each of Thomas County’s cities: Meigs, Boston, Pavo, Coolidge, Metcalfe, Ochlocknee, and Thomasville. Today, we volunteered in Coolidge and Metcalfe making good on our commitment to serve all of Thomas County.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PICTURES. FIND LOTS MORE ON OUR FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.

Starting our day in Coolidge, we partnered with the Coolidge Community Association (CCA) to complete a small streetscape project – planting flowers in pots which were then placed in front of businesses along the downtown route. We also potted 50+ “porch plants” which we hand-delivered to local residents. Each plant included a handwritten note to bring joy to the recipients! And a Little Free Library was left behind at the community association building.

Then we were off to meet the Pavo Civic Club at the Pavo Peacock Center where we scraped paint from the kitchen area, and removed stickers and labels from over 100 metal chairs that are used at community events. Our last Little Free Library was painted and installed at the center’s entrance to spread the love of reading.

After a long, hot day of volunteer service, we returned to our home base to enjoy popsicles compliments of Blue Bell and reflect on our week:

Favorite projects – Humane Society and Scott Senior Center put our social skills to the test, and we passed with flying colors!
Hardest projects – Metcalfe murals and Pavo chairs were the most labor-intensive requiring patience and a little bit of elbow grease.
Most satisfying projects – Second Harvest and Boston Main Street Sweep which required teamwork and efficiency, but we were able to immediately see the results of our work.

We are so proud of these kids! No matter where we went, or what they were tasked with, they gave it their all with commitment, determination, and enthusiasm. They proved that student volunteers can make a difference in Thomas County.

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.