Community Works 4Hart

Fun fact: if you zoom in on the hat in this picture, you’ll see a misspelled word…. be better BinTime 😂

It’s been TOXIC HOT in Hart County for the last few days and we won’t get a break from high temperatures until Sunday. For our 3rd June/July project, Community Works is starting a campaign on awareness of heat stroke. Some symptoms are high body temperature, altered mental state, changes in sweating (hot and dry skin if due to hot weather but if due to exercise, you may sweat profusely), nausea/vomiting, flushed skin,rapid breathing, racing heart rate and headache. We are handing out water bottles and flyers at outdoor events. Tonight the farmers market was indoor at The Station and we had a fun pop up event playing Pride Bingo and supporting local vendors. We had a blast!

Community Works volunteers did an extra project in May with the Haven Zoo so we pushed our meal kit project to June. One of our volunteers told us that food banks like to have birthday kits on hand so we made simple meal kits so people could make a birthday cake without oil or eggs (add Sprite to a mix!). We also donated chili Mac recipes-all kits come with shelf stable items, a recipe and a note of encouragement and love.

Community Works has been busy! Our first project in June was at the VFW. We donated supplies to Hart Life for young mothers without support. We donated diapers, baby shampoo, clothes, and baby wipes and had a great time supporting the VFW.

Hart Co nonprofits and churches LOVE Bingo fundraisers and so does Community Works 4Hart 😂. One of the members of the VFW asked us to support their supply drive for the Troops and so we jumped at the opportunity to do a fun project. Our best Bingo champ was on vacation but we had a great time and two of our team are planning to apply to join the VFW as they contribute supplies to a nonprofit every month. We will be back in June to play more Bingo with more volunteers and we will donate supplies to Hart Life, a pregnancy center that helps mothers without resources. For those that want to support the VFW, we will also donate to them and bring Bingo prizes as they are looking to refresh their prize stash. If you would like to play with us or work on a project (we have one more for May-meal kits for the Food Bank) we’ll be contacting you soon! And contact us at Facebook if you would like to do meal kits!

One of our May projects was to provide copies for a series of classes on Martin Luther King’s speeches. (Martin Luther King: Is He Still Relevant?). The class led by retired teacher Joanne Ridgway has been riveting with a packed Fellowship Hall every Wednesday.

Hart County has a new resident: a disabled coyote named Ringo! Ringo’s owner died tragically in a car crash and the Haven Zoo volunteers had to HUSTLE to build an enclosure for him. Due to his condition, Ringo can’t function on his own in the wild. Community Works was asked to bring lunch to tired and hungry volunteers. On Day One we brought bean burritos and Vitamin Water and snacks on Sunday and Monday. I cut some bolts, moved some lumber etc and got to meet Ringo. Thanks to all who helped Ringo’s sweet caretakers get him to the Zoo! Now Odie (another coyote who can’t be out in the wild) will have a friend and families all over Northeast Georgia will learn about exotic and native animals with problems that need a space like Hart County’s fabulous Haven Zoo. The owner JohnieSue Thurmond is an anthropologist and designed her zoo after studying zoos all over the world. Community Works had other projects this month but we were happy to be a part of this adventure.

It’s already May and Community Works is gearing up for another month of fun projects. If you’d like to join us, let us know! Our last project in April was recommended to us by our Nancy Hart Legacy award winner Loretta King. Loretta suggested that we write letters of support to seniors at area nursing homes/rehab centers who might not get much mail and would benefit from a friendly letter. We got together and wrote cheerful messages and delivered them to Hart Care Center. The staff was very supportive of our project!

Our second April project was a trash pick up on Elizabeth Road. It’s a busy street with speeding cars and littering is a problem. We learned that 80 year olds have been trying to pick up the trash and their neighbors are afraid for their safety! With 2 projects in the bag for April, our Community Works volunteers were willing to take the risks 😂. We learned many things about our speeders/litterers: they appreciate a good mini bottle. Is this drinking responsibly? Okay probably not 😂. Lucky strike ci******es were popular. Fast food! Hart County we may need to work on our diets/lifestyles.

Hart County is named after Nancy Morgan Hart, a Revolutionary War patriot. As we celebrate the 250th Declaration of Independence, we celebrate our local heroine who contributed to the American victory at the Battle of Kettle Creek, who went behind enemy lines to gather information and did so much for our young country. Her courage is legendary and all in Hart County know of her life’s work for the USA. For Women’s History Month in March, Community Works 4Hart celebrated the life of Nancy Hart and honored 3 Hart County women who embody her spirit and are making impressive contributions to Hart County. Last month, we presented Marcella Foster Holmes, Loretta King and JohnieSue Thurman with our first Nancy Hart Legacy award. We see the women of Hart County doing so much for our community and we plan to make this an annual award honoring all women who make Hart County a wonderful place to live.