Sweaters for Seniors "Fulton County" team left to right: Sharna Fulton, AHCS; Steven Hargrove, SCS Metro Atlanta, Missy Hirsh and Lexi Fields, the Galloway School

In one metro Atlanta county, there’s a socially minded school responsible for educating the next generation. Also, in that same county (Fulton) is SCS of Metro Atlanta that cares for the needs of seniors.

Last Thursday, representatives from both organizations met for the first time in a hallway at the Galloway School on behalf of  “Sweaters For Seniors.”

It was a really happy day, but not just for the warm sunlight that beamed through the school’s big windows. Or because of the melange of yellow and red trees just outside those windows as you overlooked Chastain Park. What made this morning special was like-minded people in various careers assembling on behalf of a common cause – to help keep Atlanta’s seniors warm this coming winter.

In attendance were Missy Hirsh, Assistant to the College Counselor for Galloway, Lexi Fields, Galloway Economics Teacher and Service Fair Director, Steven Hargrove, Director of Special Events for SCS and myself, Sharna Fulton, Director of Marketing of Sweaters for Seniors and AHCS. (As a friend, Craig Pigg accompanied Steven Hargrove to Galloway as he is considering sending his son, Cooper to the school next year.)

So why were three different organizations involved in the collection of 174 pounds of sweaters you may ask? (Missy Hirsh weighed the many green bags of beautiful sweaters made with heavy wool, cashmere, fleece and dry cleaned just for S4s.)

The answer is that we at AHCS, sought for the first time this year, to make “Sweaters For Seniors” truly a community endeavor. Why?

#1:  Schools were the best resource for collecting sweaters for seniors the past 2 years. We realized it was students were the most enthusiastic and truly what made the program special.

#2: We thought it would be a good way to connect Atlanta’s youth to Atlanta’s seniors. (After all, young or old, we are all one!)

#3: We wanted to put the spotlight on the senior service agencies and what they do for Atlanta’s elder population. We felt that by connecting schools with their same county senior agencies, we could make school communities aware of the seniors’ needs in their own neighborhood. What’s more, with blog and Facebook posts like these, we could further illuminate the existence of and what agencies like SCS of Metro Atlanta does to help seniors.

In conclusion, I’m really pleased with the outcome of this partnership for 2010. Galloway’s Missy Hirsh puts it best.  “I want our students to learn about thinking outside of their own box. Sometimes, there’s a stigma attached to not having ‘things.’ By collecting sweaters for seniors, our students were able to know there are people with needs and that it’s okay to understand that and to help them.

Thanks to the outstanding organizational skills of Steven Hargrove and his staff — Hargrove reports SCS just raised $504K last week during their annual black tie fundraising event –  the sweaters will have value too! When I approached Hargrove last summer as to whether SCS could find use for “sweater donations,” he responded “yes.” Within a few days, he had the perfect idea for the sweaters — to deliver them to  SCS’s 300 clients along with their Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels.

As we button-up collections for Fulton County’s seniors this year, we look forward to more schools joining us in the “4th Annual Sweaters for Seniors” coming next fall!

Yesterday, AHCS dropped off not one…not two…but three “Sweaters for Seniors” collection boxes to The Galloway School in Atlanta’s Fulton County.

“Through innovation, enthusiasm, and high expectations, Galloway draws students joyfully into learning and cultivates the intrinsic curiosity and unrepeatable talents of each one,” says the school’s website. In other words, the age 3-grade 12 private school is where students learn to think outside the box!

Now, thanks to Missy Hirsh, Assistant to the College Counselor, Galloway’s students will be thinking inside the box, too this coming fall. They’ll be collecting sweaters to warm-up senior citizens in Fulton County.

Sweaters for Seniors is in its 3rd year, but it’s the first time we’re partnering solely with metro atlanta schools in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Fulton Counties. So, we really appreciate those who have chosen to jump in from the get-go! All proceeds — sweaters and sales from “pin-up sweaters” — will go to senior services in the same county where the school is located.

It’s not as if school administrators and educators don’t have enough to do either. When Missy isn’t helping a student change their schedule, advising a senior on college or a myriad of other duties at Galloway, she’s caring for others, too. Missy often visits her godmother at an assisted living facility in Stone Mountain. (Her godmother is teaching her bridge, they watch NCIS and take walks together.)

Missy’s obvious soft spot in her heart for seniors is one reason why she volunteered to take on “Sweaters for Seniors.” She also said, “This program will give our students an opportunity to think about the needs of seniors in Fulton County.”

According to Steven Hargrove, Director of Events and Marketing at SCS, the donations will come in handy. Senior Citizen Services of metro Atlanta plans to deliver the sweaters collected by the Galloway School with their Thanksgiving Meals On Wheels Atlanta.

3rd Annual Sweaters For Seniors

JC Magill Elementary in Gwinnett County has signed up to be our flagship school. And it looks like CBS Atlanta will be doing a little “Positively Georgia” feature on it too!

Every new or like-new sweater collected at JC Magill will go to Gwinnett County Senior Services. While speaking to Gary Galloway, the volunteer coordinator for GCSS this week at his office, I was reminded how valuable these warm and woolly creations have been the past few years. Gary said we may have even saved a life by providing a sweater to a woman who had no heat in her home.  Can you imagine!

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway! We need more schools to help us out and spread the warmth throughout DeKalb and Fulton County, too. For a Sweaters For Seniors School Activity Kit, please contact  sharna@alternative4seniors.com

The W.O.W.'s hold up a few of the sweaters they gave me last Thursday for Gwinnett County Seniors.

Last February, I met Mary Anne Lamb (shown back row on the left) at Run The Reagan 5K in Snellville, GA.  AHCS had a booth at the race and Mary Anne stopped by. I remember telling her about our “Sweaters For Seniors” program. She told me that her women’s group at Brookwood Baptist might be able to help us collect some sweaters.

Lo and behold! She was right as last Thursday AHCS was invited to the “Girl Friends’” meeting at Mary Anne’s Lawrenceville home.  It was a chilly winter night but you’d hardly know it thanks to the hospitality of these women. Warmly welcoming me in, I was given the floor to discuss our “3rd Annual Sweaters for Seniors” program.

Martha McCance (back row 3rd from left) introduced me to the W.O.W.s and pledged that they’d help next fall. One of my requests is that we get more Gwinnett County Schools involved this year. It seems that K-5 aged kids in particular love to collect sweaters for seniors. Martha explained, “We have some members who work at  Gwinnett County Schools and we’ll ask them to help.”

A huge thanks to Mary Anne, Martha, Lori and the rest of the “GF’s.” (I hear they also help seniors at Sunrise Assisted Living on Five Forks Trickum.) So with all they have on their plates, we appreciate their help with S4S all the more!

Let’s give a shout out to the principal, teachers, staff and of course, the K-5 students at R.L. Norton Elementary in Snellville! On Friday, August 15, the Gwinnett County School joined our efforts to collect new and ‘like -new’ sweaters for Gwinnett County Senior Services.

Also, on Friday, “Sweaters For Seniors” made the 6 o’clock news! (And 5 AM, noon, 11 PM, too) The sweater drive was featured on CBS Atlanta’s “Good Deeds.” The ongoing segment of anchorperson, Tracye Hutchins highlights unique and giving efforts made in the Atlanta metro area. ”Sweaters” is thankful to have been featured by Ms. Hutchins on “Better Mornings” for the 2nd year. Thank you Tracye, Steve (CBS interview/camera man) and CBS Atlanta for helping us spread the news about “S4S.” Also thanks to Tom Balsamides at Chick-Fil-A on Hwy 124 and Brad Spratte, Hwy 78 for partnering with us on this much needed project for Gwinnett’s aging population. For more information on how Gwinnett Senior Services, helps our community, please click here.