Make a Difference Day is Oct. 25
Wilkes County
is gearing up again Make a Difference Day.
On Saturday Oct 25. High School students, Cub Scouts, civic groups, 4-H
groups, church groups and seniors have decided to devote the 6th
annual Make a Difference for Wilkes County to help others in our communities. The project is sponsored by the Wilkes
County Volunteer Coalition Committee. More
than 165 volunteers “Made a Difference” on a rainy Saturday last year and more
volunteers are expected to take action on Oct. 25.
Wilkes County
volunteers will be joining over a million Americans across the country to “Make
a Difference,” the largest national day of doing good.. Among the Wilkes volunteers will be Chloe
Sturdivant, who writes to veterans in VA hospitals. “I’ve been sending them
cards saying we are thinking of them and thanking them for their service to
their country for years,” she said.
Around 200
cards are sent. The cards are rotated between the VA hospitals in Salisbury and
Asheville. This year the cards will be going to Salisbury. The cards are addressed “to a veteran” and
mailed to the volunteer coordinator at the hospitals. Sturdivant says she and
her Philathea Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church in North Wilkesboro
have been sending cards to veterans for 10 years. The reason she started doing this, she says, is because she has
had family members who have stayed in the VA hospitals. Also, she worked for
the U.S. Rubber Co., a defense plant in Charlotte, where she helped make tracer
bullets for the Navy during WWII.
From these
experiences, Sturdivant said she feels an attachment to veterans. “It’s a good
cause,” she said. “Anyone who wants to write cards, be at the Wilkesboro
Baptist Church at 8 a.m. (Oct. 25).” She
said breakfast refreshments and bag lunches will be provided for each
volunteer. Other planned projects for
the elderly and persons with disabilities include pressure washing, building
ramps, steps, repairing roods, yard work, washing windows, and cards to send to
the Veterans.
Committee member
Lexie Williamson is says she is “very excited” about the Senior Education Crops
and that will reach school children in Wilkes County with a Pen Pal Program
that will last all year long. The Pen Pal Program is designed to enrich the
lives of students, teachers, families and senior adults. Volunteers are needed for the following:
build ramps, yard work, steps, wash windows, household cleaning, rake leaves,
make cards for veterans, visit shut-in, plant flowers.
