Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

March/April, 1999

Community Service And The Southeast Region
by Sue Heflin, Southeast Regional Director

DO PEOPLE ASK YOU WHY they should join NADE and exactly what can the Association do for them? Members of the Southeast Region are quick to respond to this by repeating that old adage that you get out of the organization what you put into it. We gladly put our money, our time and our hearts into a tremendous variety of community service projects and we are thankful that we have the means and the opportunity to help others. I wanted to share some of our efforts with you and perhaps inspire your chapter to join us in the spirit of giving all year long. This year the Alabama Association made monetary donations to three different charities at Christmas. They also assisted in a Boy Scout county-wide canned food drive and collected pop-tops from canned drinks for the local Ronald McDonald House. In a special effort, they raised money for one of their Mobile examiners who lost everything to Hurricane Georges. The Derby City Chapter assisted the Kentucky Chapter with a canned food drive for the homeless and poor and anticipate many joint projects in the future. They also held their annual Christmas toys and clothes drive for the Baptist Children’s Home. In their Coat-a-Kid Drive, they delivered over 100 coats and jackets to a local television station. The Georgia Chapter in Decatur decided to focus on the elderly and disabled for their holiday project this year and selected a local nursing home close to the office. They collected four big boxes filled with gift items such as slippers, socks, hats, gloves, scarves and toiletry items. They were told that their monetary donation would be used for outings for some of the nursing home residents like breakfast at Shoney’s or an afternoon picnic. They also collect eye glasses for the Lions Club and pop-tabs for their Ronald McDonald House. In the Athens Branch Office, a monetary contribution was made to the local Nurses Clinic for the Homeless which offers examinations, treatment, medication, hygiene packets and so much more to these needy patients. The Mississippi Association elected to sponsor a community service event every month this year. In the first event, members collected money and recruited walkers for the first Jackson Diabetes Walk. MADE member Melissa Jones was presented a Golden Sneaker Award for personally raising over $800.00 for the cause. During the holidays they collected cash and over four carloads of clothing, household goods, toys, personal care items, and food for the local shelters. In February they made up Valentine goody bags of personal items and candy for ladies at the battered women’s shelter and of toys and candy for their children. The Tennessee Chapter asked their DDS to assist them in collecting towels, cassette tapes, fragrances, posters, candy, personal care items, and herbal teas as well as money to purchase fruit to make up gift baskets for Alive Hospice. They had enough items and cash donated to fill 43 gift baskets which were matched to individual terminally ill patients by the hospice staff. In October the Tar Heel Association community service committee made arrangements for members to volunteer time to help with the care and entertainment of children at the nearby Cerebral Palsy Daycare Center. They followed up in December with a Christmas party for the children, staff, and parents of the children. Dr. Steve Salmony coordinated donations of gifts and money and also dressed up as Santa to entertain. Others collected toiletry items, gifts and money for a nursing home for assisted care and then sang Christmas carols for the residents. One member collected used and new child car seats for a center which houses hydrocephalic children. THADE also sponsored an agency-wide collection of food, clothes and money to aid victims of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras and participated in the yearly agency Christmas Family Project. There are so many worthwhile causes and so much opportunity for us to improve the quality of life of others who are less fortunate. We hope our projects will inspire others to become more involved in community service.