The ladies of the Red Hat Society 3-L chapter in Decatur gathered at New Beginning Worship Center on Aug. 18 to donate, sort and assemble clinic supplies boxes for local Title I elementary schools.
Recent budget cuts have caused a limited amount of supplies in community schools. For this particular service project, members purchased supplies to assist school nurses in providing medical care to students. The boxes included bandages, cotton balls, cold compresses, water, juice, crackers, disinfectant wipes, and hygiene products.
“Being a former educator of 30 years, I have seen first-hand, what happens when a child needs medical assistance and the clinic is not well-stocked. They need to be healthy and well in order to get their education,” said Yolandria Jones-Totten, founder of the 3-L chapter. “While many other organizations have school-supply drives, we wanted to donate something that helps their well-being.”
A national organization, the Red Hat Society promotes socialization and sisterhood for women over 50 years of age. Members are easily recognized by their purple attire and stylish red hats.
The 3-L chapter added community giving as another element to their group because, “it is important to the community and because it affords opportunities for senior citizens to social, remain active and be engaged in projects through community service,” said Jones-Totten. 3-L stands for “Ladies Loving Life.”
In addition to the clinic supply drive, the group of women does community service and charitable activities around the year for local organizations. The 3-L chapter has raised funds for several charitable causes, including The American Heart Association and The American Cancer Society. The volunteers also prepared meals for homeless individuals; donated personal care items to battered women; donated clothes to community clothes closets; as well as food to local food pantries. The next service project will be to serve the elderly in a care facility.
People can volunteer with the chapter simply by contacting Jones-Totten and expressing interest - membership is not required.
“I hope our volunteers realize the importance of service and charity. Fun, is paramount, but there are serious issues facing the community. Our chapter plans to be involved in solutions,” she added.
In other news
Cobb Young Professionals donated $4,500 to five local nonprofit organizations. The money was raised during the Cobb Young Professionals Charity Golf Tournament. The donations were made to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Dave Krache Foundation, WellStar Foundation, liveSAFE Resources and the Northwest Family YMCA.
Information: Connect with the 3-L Chapter of the Red Hat Society by contacting, Yolandria Jones-Totten at yolandriaj@aol.com
