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2018 Newton County MLK Day of Service to focus on family wellness
MLK Jr.

COVINGTON, Ga. - On Monday, Jan. 15, Newton County School System Project AWARE will open the doors of Newton High School to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of service and wellness themed “Inspire to Aspire. Live to Give.”  

Project AWARE is joining forces with Newton County Community Partnership to host a day designed to focus on personal well-being and contributing to the health and happiness of our neighbors.

Families are invited to bring donations of canned goods, books, coats, luggage, and toiletries to help residents of Newton County who are in need; learn about resources available in the community; take advantage of free on-site health screenings; watch and discuss a documentary about mental health in the world of sports; and dance their stress away in a family Zumba class. This event has been organized to highlight programs and services that have a positive impact on health and wellness in Newton County.  

Dozens of volunteers are needed to assist with: set-up, parking, and registration; helping American Red Cross staff with the blood drive; receiving donations at the event and loading trucks and delivering them to donation sites; assisting community organization partners at their resource tables; greeting and directing event participants; ushering for the film; helping to serve lunch; monitoring the Zumba session; taking photos and video.  This event is about members of our community coming together to help each other. 

Lunch will be provided to all attendees and volunteers. There is no cost to host a resource table, but pre-registration is required to assist in planning for lunch.

You can register for the event as a volunteer, as a participant (or both), or as a resource table vendor by searching Event Brite or by going directly to the NCSS Project AWARE site https://goo.gl/forms/Yzo9ynwFwxTjF1712

The event schedule is as follows:

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. - Red Cross Blood Drive

10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Resource Tables Open to Public

10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Collection of Donations – canned goods, books, coats, luggage, toiletries

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. - Film Viewing, MIND/GAME: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw

12 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Chat and Chew: During lunch, there will be a film discussion with Sports Psychologist, Dr. Kensa Gunter

12:45 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Family Zumba Class

For more information about 2018 Newton County MLK Day of Service and Wellness and other volunteer opportunities scheduled for Jan. 21, contact Mollie Melvin at handsonnewton@yahoo.com or 770-330-7405.  

Hands On Newton, a program of Newton County Community Partnership, provides leadership development and volunteer management services including referral and placement, training and project planning.  Hands On Newton connects volunteers and community needs by making individual referrals, matching interest with organizations; connecting groups with projects hosted by non-profit organizations; and leading projects that bring diverse volunteers together. Please call 678- 342- 5648 or visit the NCSS Project AWARE website to learn more about how the staff in the school system collaborate with community partners to decrease stigma, increase awareness, and improve access to mental health resources for youth in Newton County School System. You can find them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube by the username: @NCSSProjectAWARE.