Kemp Elementary School donated ‘Family Tubs’ to Powder Springs Elementary School and its community. Each classroom at Kemp created a ’Family Tub’ full of household and cleaning supplies, toiletries, first aid, cases of water bottles and more. Kemp received clothing and canned goods from neighboring churches that were also donated to the Powder Springs community. Both of the schools and their communities were
overwhelmed with the amount of outreach and support.

The Lassiter High School DECA club held a three-week Breast Cancer Awareness fund-raising campaign during the month of October, capturing the attention and generosity of the whole school. The campaign raised more than $2,000 for breast cancer research!

The campaign began with with St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Mammogram bus offering mammograms for teachers. From Oct. 11-17, students passed out pink ribbon-themed treats to Lassiter staff members to raise awareness and show appreciation. DECA sold custom pink t-shirts, included facts about cancer during the morning announcements and offered discounted pink spiritwear in the school store. The campaign concluded with a “Pink Out” at the home football game against Milton on Oct. 16, where everyone from the band to the cheerleaders to the football team got into the spirit of support.

The Lassiter DECA sponsors are teachers Kari Palmer and Wanda Wexler.

Tony Browning, Latin and French language teacher at North Cobb High School, was recently named one of two 2009 Volunteers of the Year by the Cherokee County YMCA.

“I get a satisfaction contributing to the community wellness mission,” Browning said. “Supporting the staff in meeting their goals and the YMCA mission is a challenge under today’s economic conditions. The YMCA is a part of my family, and everyone enjoys the physical aspect of it. My daughter is a swim instructor and lifeguard, and my wife works in the membership department. It is an important part of our social life.”

Mr. Browning will be honored at the Metro Atlanta YMCA annual volunteer recognition dinner Nov. 5 at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Mary Anne Addison, teacher at Ford Elementary, engaged her students in helping out a fellow teacher (and Ford mom!) from Clarkdale Elementary in Austell. Mrs. Addison taught with Noelle Huff in the 1990’s and has her daughter in class at Ford. The class collected $260.00 in gift cards from The School Box for Mrs. Huff, as well as a box full of educational games and books for the Clarkdale students!

For several years, the students and staff at Green Acres Elementary have committed to supporting the American Cancer Society through its Relay for Life sticker contest.  The students purchase stickers for $0.10, with all proceeds supporting cancer research.  The program coordinator, Laurie Lincoln, PE Specialist, encourages the students to participate in any way they can.  This year the students brought in bags of pennies, nickels and dimes that they had been collecting for weeks.  Their efforts definitely paid off, as students and staff collectively raised $1,213.35 in one week!

Cooper Middle School in Austell is one of several Cobb schools with families affected by last week’s flooding. Six Cooper staff members and nearly 60 students at the school have experienced damage or losses to their homes and the school is uniting to help its own. The school is ensuring that all students have breakfast and lunch while at school, and school counselors and social workers are putting in additional effort to identify and assist students in need.

On Saturday, Oct. 3, the school will open the ‘Cooper Closet’ from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. to distribute free clothing, cleaning products and school supplies to families in the community.

WXIA ‘11 Alive’ and The School Box brought truckloads of school supplies donated by the Atlanta-area community to Ewing Road Baptist Church Sept 29. Families in the Austell area displaced by last week’s record rains and flooding were welcomed with smiling faces and brand new folders, backpacks, pencils, paper and other school materials for students. Superintendent Fred Sanderson and WXIA president and general manager Bob Walker were both on hand, greeting parents, students, teachers and volunteers. The outpouring of care and concern for students at Clarkdale Elementary and other Cobb schools has been tremendous, with thousands of pounds of donated supplies collected over the past week.

WXIA had full coverage of the event on their evening broadcast, available for viewing below:

The Cobb Schools Foundation continues to accept monetary and gift card donations to benefit schools affected by the floods. The foundation’s secure donation Web site accepts credit/debit cards. Cash, check or gift card donations may be mailed to: Cobb Schools Foundation, 514 Glover St. Marietta, GA 30060. All contributions are tax-deductible. The biggest needs for Clarkdale classrooms can be met through donations of gift cards from retailers such as:

• The School Box
• Walmart, Target, Kmart
• OfficeMax, Staples, Office Depot

The foundation asks that donations of household goods, clothing bedding, etc. be made at MUST Ministries in Marietta.

The Men and Ladies of Distinction of Kennesaw Mountain High School participated in the Partnership for Community Action and Turner Chapel AME Church food drive Feb. 7. Students arrived at the Turner Chapel recreation center at 7 a.m. and were briefed on the day’s activities and expectations.

The food drive began at 8 am as the qualifying participants entered the facility. Upon entering the facility, participants were required to complete an authorization form verifying that they qualified for the assistance. Participants then proceeded into the gymnasium where over 1200 boxes of non perishable items were stacked. The students were responsible for distributing the boxes of food to participants and assisting participants to their vehicles with the boxes. Students also assisted in clean up at the end of the food drive.

Riverside Intermediate’s student council completed a school wide can drive for Valentine’s Day. The students prepared a commercial on Riverside Live, the school’s closed-circuit broadcasting station. They addressed the need for the can drive, emphasizing the them “Open your Hearts and Give Cans from the Heart.” The students collected more than 800 cans of food that will be donated to a nearby homeless shelter.

The McEachern High School and Walton High School chapters of Becca’s Closet will sponsor its third annual “Prom Fashion Show” at Town Center Mall on Saturday, February 28th at 3:00 p.m. The fashion show will feature student models showcasing a selection of the charitable organization’s new and gently used donated prom dresses and formal gowns that are available to girls in need throughout the Metro Atlanta area.

Becca’s Closet was the inspiration of Florida high school student, Rebecca Kirtman, who single-handedly began collecting and distributing hundreds of prom dresses out of her own closet in order to provide for fellow classmates who otherwise could not afford to purchase them for prom, homecoming and other formal high school events. Following Rebecca’s tragic and fatal car accident in 2003, her family and friends made it their mission to carry on her legacy and acts of kindness by established Becca’s Closet, now with over 75 chapters throughout the U.S. including three in Metro Atlanta.

The Metro Atlanta chapter of Becca’s Closet at McEachern High School in Powder Springs was established five years ago and has received an outpouring of community support with thousands of dress donations and accessories for those in need. The organization’s newest chapter at Walton High School in Marietta was established in 2008 and has already collected hundreds of dresses generously donated by individuals and local retail stores. Both chapters work together on annual fundraisers and events, dress fittings, and dress drives. Both chapters collect and distribute dresses year-round.

A temporary store will be open to the public for individual and group dress fittings during prom season from March 1 – May 1 at the Town Center Oaks Shopping Center, 2615 Busbee Parkway in Kennesaw. The store will be manned by student volunteers who will serve as personal shoppers to those making an appointment for dress fittings. For more information and to schedule a fitting, please call (770) 361-0802 or email either mhsbeccascloset@yahoo.com or beccasclosetwhs@yahoo.com. For further information on the local and national chapters of Becca’s Closet, please visit www.beccascloset.org.