project impact

July 31, 2023

Fond Farewell to our Summer Outreach Intern

Welcome to the last of several summer 2023 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 Jennifer Coleman, and I am the 2023 Hands On Thomas County Impact ROI intern!

I am a graduate of Thomas County Central High School and am currently a senior at Thomas University. I am also on the Thomas University Track & Field team as a Thrower. I currently hold six school records, which is the most by a female in program history!

I am excited to be this year’s HOTC intern and look forward to the opportunity to not only mentor youth and provide guidance but also give back to a community that has given so much to me since I was a toddler.

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WHAT A SUMMER!

This summer has been filled with many adventures, laughs, and a great learning experience for everyone including myself!

I started my summer with our annual Project Impact Summer Service Camp designed for rising 6-9th graders. Allowing them to earn service hours, have lots of fun, and most importantly make a difference in their community.

Project Impact also served as my first major project with Hands On Thomas County. I believe that it was a good experience for me to learn different ways to volunteer in the community and lend a helping hand where I could. Every day was an adventure and as excited as the kids were to go back home and tell their parents about their day; I had the same enthusiasm!

It was so amazing to see the smiles on each of the camper’s faces, knowing how they can make an impact in their community even if it means getting a little sweaty! I have no doubt that they learned valuable lessons and made some new friends throughout Thomasville.

As the summer went on it was time for me to organize my own projects! I was given the opportunity to work with three different youth organizations – the Boys and Girls Club, Thomasville Community Resource Center and Vashti Clubhouse! As a native of Thomasville, I was very familiar with each youth group thanks to my parents allowing me to be part of those organizations growing up.

My very first project was at the Scott Senior Center with the Boys and Girls Club! The purpose of my first project was to bring awareness to Senior Outreach, allowing each student to understand the importance of the younger generation socializing with the older generation.

It’s always a good thing to make a new friend and lend a helping hand no matter how old you are! Did I mention that bingo was very competitive? I even had several chances throughout the summer to sharpen my bingo skills.

Additionally, as time went on throughout the summer and I was able to work with different organizations and youth groups I took some time to reflect on how much value volunteering holds in the community.

I got so much positive feedback from different event coordinators and participants throughout the summer on how well each project was organized. Even though sometimes I miss being a kid, this experience made me realize how happy I am to be blessed with such an amazing opportunity to give the younger generation a chance to make a difference in the world!

Especially being a student-athlete at Thomas University, hearing the stories from different kids about what they want to be or do when they grow up gave me a sense of acknowledgment to let them know how volunteering in the community can help them reach their personal goals. Going to different stores downtown, picking up trash, making thank you cards; you never know whom you might run into or shake a hand with that changes your life for the better.

I believe that working with the senior citizens at the Scott Senior Center and Woodleaf Senior Care was ultimately my favorite memory. Especially when we had the chance to make the memory collages. It was so beautiful to see how happy the senior citizens and students were to learn more about each other.

Sometimes in life, your hard work may not go noticed or mentioned in the big bright lights but I can assure you that you are making a difference in someone’s life in some way. You never know who might need a laugh, a hug, or just someone to make our community a better place. Always be kind to others and put your best foot forward in everything you desire to do in life!

So, here’s to one final farewell from Jen Coleman!

Thank you for giving me a chance to make a difference in so many lives. You all have made such a difference in my life for the better, and I could not be more honored to serve our almighty God and serve as this year’s Hands On Thomas County Summer Intern.

Take care!

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.

Mrs. Robert
P. Crozer

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Mr. & Mrs. C Martin Wood

July 28, 2023

Outreach 2023 – Week 5

Welcome to one of several summer 2023 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 Jennifer Coleman, and I am the 2023 Hands On Thomas County Impact ROI intern!

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

Hey everyone, it’s Jennifer Coleman checking in one last time with you guys! What a blast it has been this summer!

I had the opportunity to end my summer as the Hands On Thomas County intern with the kids from the Vashti Clubhouse one last time!

It was such a bittersweet moment today after having the chance to go to the Community Teaching Garden, located at the Thomasville Community Resource Center.

The Community Teaching Garden serves as an opportunity for anyone to learn more about different fruits and vegetables, and even get hands-on experience with planting their own things!

Each student got the chance to pull different types of vegetables today like sweet potatoes, long greens beans, and even squash. They pulled so many vegetables today that they were able to take some home to their families!

They also learned about how important vegetables and fruit are when helping you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

It has been such a blast to work with the Vashti Clubhouse and I hope that they learned something new from this experience!

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.

Mrs. Robert
P. Crozer

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Mr. & Mrs. C Martin Wood

July 21, 2023

Outreach 2023 – Week 4

My name is Jennifer Coleman, and I am the 2023 Hands On Thomas County Impact ROI intern!

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What a busy summer it has been for me and so many youth groups! This week I had the opportunity to organize two new projects.

I started off with the Boys and Girls Club close to their headquarters. We were able to do a downtown sweep, learn the importance of doing our part to “Keep Thomas County Beautiful” and just be overall great citizens!

Before we left the teen center, each student was assigned to make a “thank you” card to hand out to different business owners downtown. I believe the owners were much more excited than us for the great surprise we had in “store” for them!!

As we continued our adventure downtown, we made sure to pick up any trash laying around and even swept the front doors of stores.

That’s not even the best part of our day! We also stopped by numerous storm drains throughout our day and learned more about the importance of how we should keep our areas clean to avoid any unnecessary trash flowing down the drains. Sadly, this was my last project with the Boys & Girls Club as the summer winds down and students are preparing to start back to school!

I have learned so much from them and hope they have learned valuable lessons about doing the small things right regardless if anyone is watching.

Each student now has a valuable place in my book of life and I can’t wait to see how they grow into young adults!

Next up, I ended my week with a brand new group – the Vashti Clubhouse! We had such an amazing time with our senior outreach project with Woodleaf Senior Life Care, which is an organization that provides residency and living experiences for senior citizens.

Students started with a nice icebreaker to help ease them into socializing with someone we may not be so familiar with. Many interesting questions were asked and smiles were definitely shared.

We even took a small break in our activities for a dance session and to listen to hidden talents on the piano!!!

We wrapped up our day outside in their beautiful garden and learned more about what you should pull and not pull when you are taking care of a garden.

Each student and resident left full of smiles and a better understanding of how socializing with someone we may not know or even older than us can brighten someone’s day!!

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.

Mrs. Robert
P. Crozer

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Mr. & Mrs. C Martin Wood

June 30, 2023

Outreach 2023 – Week 3

My name is Jennifer Coleman, and I am the 2023 Hands On Thomas County Impact ROI intern!

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Hey everyone! Another week full of service learning and activities is in the books!

I started my week with the Boys and Girls Club at Hands and Hearts for Horses, which is an organization that provides therapeutic riding and hippotherapy to participants with disabilities and challenges. Each student learned more about how horses are used to provide physical and occupational therapy in people’s daily lives.

It was such a cool experience interacting with the horses up close and personal! The Boys and Girls Club participants were able to groom a few horses and learn more about what goes into maintaining the horses to keep a well-balanced lifestyle.

We then ended the day with some truly hands-on experience by side-walking with riders and helping them play games on horseback! Side walking is a term used for people who hold the saddle of a horse for safety reasons while there is a rider guiding the horse around.

After a fun-filled day at Hands and Hearts for Horses, I returned to one of my favorite spots on Wednesday – the Scott Senior Center! This was the first time that the Thomasville Community Resource Center youth has been there and they were ecstatic about the new adventure!

They were able to learn the importance of socializing with seniors in our community and about how one small act of kindness can brighten someone’s entire week.

We started with a nice devotion and headed straight into our exercises – everyone was pumped up and excited about our arts and crafts projects after that!

As groups wrapped up their smile cards, they had the chance to make a memory collage board from magazine clippings of their favorite things. It was a pleasure to see how diverse everybody’s collage came out!

We then had a rotation going outside in the garden that we have been tending for over a month – and let me tell you – there has been so much progress done within the last few weeks!

I believe that my favorite part about the entire week was seeing the smiles on everybody’s faces. Sometimes taking a moment to appreciate the small things in life, feeling blessed to make such a big contribution in several ways within our community, and having fun is very rewarding!

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.

Mrs. Robert
P. Crozer

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Mr. & Mrs. C Martin Wood

June 26, 2023

Outreach 2023 – Week 2

My name is Jennifer Coleman, and I am the 2023 Hands On Thomas County Impact ROI intern!

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

Hey everyone! I’m back with another blog to tell you even more about the fun I’m having this summer with local youth organizations!

This week, I kicked things off with the Boys and Girls Club at Second Harvest of South Georgia, an organization that operates a variety of programs that are aimed at reducing food insecurities in our local area.

Then, I was able to end the week with the group at Thomasville Community Resource Center! TCRC is an organization that provides educational development by providing afterschool and summer learning opportunities for local youth.

Each day at Second Harvest on both days, we were assigned to pack food boxes with different types of foods such as almonds, walnuts, and stew beef. We also had the opportunity to sort oranges by throwing away any non-edible ones and storing the good ones in plastic bags to prep them for distribution. The Boys and Girls Club and TCRC youth had so much fun being able to work together as a team for an amazing cause!

Additionally, TCRC made such a huge impact by packing a total of 124 boxes in just an hour and a half! That’s enough boxes to feed 124 families for at least a week! We then ended with a nice tour (thanks, Josh!) of the facility and everyone enjoyed “cooling” off after their hard work with a quick look into the freezer!

Overall, we had two great days! I enjoyed watching the kids engage in the project that is giving back to their community. I think it opened their eyes and helped them understand that they can make a difference, even in our small town!

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.

Mrs. Robert
P. Crozer

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Mr. & Mrs. C Martin Wood

June 16, 2023

Outreach 2023 – Week 1

My name is Jennifer Coleman, and I am the 2023 Hands On Thomas County Impact ROI intern!

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We kicked off the first week of Project Impact Outreach with the Boys and Girls Club – Teen Club, taking a great group to Scott Senior Center!

We started our morning with a devotional from Keith McIntyre, a well-known local Minister who provides words of wisdom to groups within the Thomasville community!

The teens then socialized with the seniors while making butterflies by tracing and cutting out their handprints on construction paper. Each butterfly that was made included a special message and the butterflies were then gifted to each senior as an appreciation to them for being a positive influence on the youth and, of course, for brightening their day!

During the midst of each person making hand butterflies, there was a rotation of two people helping outside the garden laying hay straws around different vegetable seeds.

We then wrapped up our morning by making thank you cards in addition to the butterflies and, on our way out, we left each senior both a butterfly and a thank you card, letting them know that we appreciate them for allowing us to hang out with them! Some of the seniors even made cards for us to take home!

This was an amazing first outreach project full of smiles and so much joy! The theme of this project was to introduce volunteer work to some students and allow them to understand the importance of making someone feel special and appreciated by doing small acts of kindness!

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.

Mrs. Robert
P. Crozer

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Mr. & Mrs. C Martin Wood

June 12, 2023

Day 4 – Summer Service Camp

It was the perfect day to be outside as our theme for the day was the Environment. We discussed the big picture of the environment – from air to water – and how its well-being affects our lives and future.

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In the morning, we were honored to be invited to volunteer at Gentian Creek Preserve – a new non-profit dedicated to engaging and enlightening students of all ages through exploration-based experiences that develop a lifelong appreciation of nature and an understanding that all living things are linked. After taking a tour of their amazing facility, we were carted off into the wilderness to work on a new trial research project – leaf packs. Leaf packs create a habitat for creatures in the creek areas and help their team better understand the existing wildlife and how to help restore the habitat to create a pleasing natural environment to encourage more wildlife. Our team of campers inspected, identified, and cataloged creek dwellers like microscopic larvae and crayfish. The team was so thrilled with the trial results, that our campers were asked to create more leaf packs for continued use – which, of course, we did!

In the afternoon, we met up with Keep Thomas County Beautiful at the Ochlocknee River where we participated in a watershed demonstration showing how items can pollute our water sources. We then spread out along the river bank to pick up litter. And there was a lot! Everything from bottles to chip bags to clothing to tires. In under two hours, we had filled 4-5 giant garbage bags with litter which we then deposited in the dump just a few blocks from the river entrance. It was dirty work, but someone (unfortunately) has to do it. Our campers were definitely game!

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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.

Mrs. Robert
P. Crozer

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Mr. & Mrs. C Martin Wood

June 8, 2023

Summer Service Camp – Day 3

Wednesday is hump day – and usually when we start dragging a little. Not this Wednesday. Everyone one ready and pumped for our theme – Senior Outreach.

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Sometimes volunteering can be as easy as reaching out to a neighbor or a friend, bringing joy and smiles, or a helping hand. Connecting with the people in our community is important to its success. That morning, we made it our goal to make a new friend (or two, or three, or more!) while visiting Scott Senior Center – an activity and enrichment center for local seniors. They gather every weekday for meals, fellowship, exercise, crafts, games, and more. We joined them to create hand fans for the hot summer days, lead devotionals, and work out together. We even got to play a few rounds of Bingo – a favorite for all! We also planted vegetables in their garden, weeded the patio plants, and organized their clothes closet. But mostly we spent time socializing, talking, and sharing stories, young and old. By the end of the morning, our goal was complete, hugs were shared, and we’re hopeful the campers will return to visit their new friends in the future.

After lunch, we headed over to Providence Plaza which provides subsidized housing for the elderly where we potted petunia plants and wrote accompanying notes of positivity. We made 100 Porch Plants – one for each resident – and hand-delivered them to their doorsteps. This simple random act of kindness makes a big impact on the recipient. Imagine the joy you would feel to find such a thoughtful gift waiting for you! There are many ways to make a positive difference, and connecting with your fellow community members is one that is easy for everyone to do every day.

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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.

Mrs. Robert
P. Crozer

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Mr. & Mrs. C Martin Wood

June 6, 2023

Service Camp 2023 – Day 1

What a great first day of Project Impact Summer Service Camp! Our goal this week is to complete TWO service projects every day. That is a lot of good!

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Our first day focused on Human Services – helping to provide the basic needs that everyone needs to live a happy, safe, and healthy life: housing, healthcare, clean air and water, and especially food.

Today, we focused on the idea of food insecurity. More than 21% of the population of Thomas County is considered food insecure, meaning they don’t have the means and/or reliable access to healthy food options. Thankfully, there are organizations in our area that work daily to address this issue.

Our morning was spent at Thomasville Community Resource Center which provides educational and exploratory opportunities to local kids. They have partnered with Keep Thomas County Beautiful which promotes litter pick-ups, recycling, and sustainability, to create a Community Teaching Garden allowing kids (and adults) to learn how to grow their own food. Fresh and healthy vegetables, herbs, and fruit are readily available to the families of TCRC and the surrounding neighborhood thanks to the support of volunteers like our campers. We weeded, mulched, planted, and tasted our way through the extensive garden. In less than two hours, we completed what would have taken their main volunteer gardener months to do.

Our afternoon was spent with Second Harvest of South Georgia, our area’s largest food bank, packing food boxes for local families. In less than two hours, our campers packed 5 pallets of pantry boxes containing food staples which will feed 425 local families!

Today was hard, but impactful work. We are proud of these kids and their determination and enthusiasm. We look forward to seeing what they accomplish throughout the rest of the week!

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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.

Mrs. Robert
P. Crozer

Dr. & Mrs.
Philip C. Watt

Mr. Lyle
Williams IV

Mr. & Mrs. C Martin Wood

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.

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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.

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