Noteworthy

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.

SmileUp! Volunteers Participate in MLK Day of Service

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

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.

Volunteers pack hygiene kits. Photo by Tonya Riddick.

Cards, signed by volunteers, ready to go in each kit. Photo by Tonya Riddick.

SmileUp! Ambassador Elodie decorates her box. Photo by Tonya Riddick. From front, volunteer Sunday-Joy, SmileUp! Ambassador Jared Riddick and Tonya Johnson Riddick organize items. Photo by Sunny Brown.

Off-Duty Firefighter Helps Elderly Resident Escape the Blaze

An off-duty Cherokee County firefighter, Capt. Brady Cornelison, recently assisted a 79-year-old lady when he noticed her home was possibly on fire. Cornelison was driving south on Hickory Flat Highway when he pulled in the driveway and went to the door to alert anyone who was inside.

“I knocked several times, and no one came to the door. I noticed that the door was unlocked, so I went inside and asked if anybody was there,” Cornelison said. After searching the house, Cornelison went outside and spotted the homeowner at the back of the home, looking up at the chimney.

The homeowner later said she noticed her buck stove was extremely hot, and she looked out her back window and saw the smoke. Cornelison immediately called 911 to report the fire. Minutes later, firefighters responded to the scene and quickly extinguished the fire. The homeowner, who was a little shaken, stated she wanted to “Thank all the firefighters for coming out and helping her with this situation.”

Thanks to Cornelison’s quick response, he may have prevented the house from having extensive damage due to the fire.