SmileUp! Volunteers Participate in MLK Day of Service
Flowers are in vases and ready for for delivery.
Rotary Club Brings Smiles to Seniors The Rotary Club of Cherokee County started the Flowers for Smiles initiative a few years ago. The idea is simple; Rotarians team up with local funeral homes that donate flowers, which are left over after services, and bring the flowers to local senior centers and nursing homes (and, sometimes the hospital) to cheer up employees and residents. Rotarians rearrange the flowers, put them in vases, or simply bundle them. Then, they quickly drop off the arrangements and put an instant smile on the recipients’ face. Funeral homes interested in participating in the Flowers for Smiles initiative, as well as volunteers, can contact the club at https://cherokeerotary.org.
Every year, SmileUp! Charitable Foundation holds the MLK Day of Service; its mission is to get kids helping kids through volunteerism. This year, SmileUp! partnered with the Highland Rivers Foundation (www.highlandriversfoundation.org) to provide 250 hygiene kits and 100 kitchen starter kits to clients who are homeless or experiencing housing insecurity, individuals transitioning out of the foster care system or incarceration, and individuals who require intensive support in order to live independently in the community. Hygiene kits consisted of toothbrush/ toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, a wash cloth, lotion, hand sanitizer, soap, mouthwash, deodorant, dental floss, a comb and Kleenex. Kitchen starter kits included a cookie sheet, skillet, saucepan and various food items. Each box was decorated, and each kit included a card from one of the 28 young volunteers, who contributed a total of 56 service hours. These Cherokee County residents signed up to volunteer on https://smileupfoundation.org. The G. Cecil Pruett YMCA offered its facility for the MLK Day of Service event and OCCUPY, Inc. provided transportation of kits to Highland Rivers.
Girl Scouts Food Drive a Success
Scouts Gabbi, Joy, Leigha, Lundyn and Nina Grace present the donations to Little River UMC scout coordinator David Bailey. 34
AROUND WOODSTOCK | March 2022
Girl Scout Troop 14465 ran a 15-day food drive as a January Community Service Effort, to stock the food pantry at Little River United Methodist Church in Woodstock, a ministry that serves the community with selfservice food for those in need. Troop 14465 filled the church’s cupboard with 1,653 items donated from friends, family and neighbors.
