Hands Across Rockdale was held on Saturday, May 6, 2023 and was a huge success thanks to the multiple sponsors and over 300 volunteers. So much was accomplished! During the event, volunteers from local organizations and Rockdale residents came together to work at 21 locations on service projects that helped beautify the community.
There was a lot of teamwork and enthusiasm as work was accomplished throughout the day. Sandra Allen at Express Pros, one of the volunteers at Memorial Middle School, wrote, “This was one of the best things I have ever been a part of! Thank you for letting me take this project. My family was so excited and they said this was the funnest day ever! We definitely want to do more of this! Tameka (MMS teacher) was so happy and said she was overwhelmed with all of the volunteers. She said she had never in the past gotten any of her projects finished. This was the first year and they were actually all finished before noon. It was awesome!”
Much of the time was spent beautifying schools, such as Memorial Middle School and Simms Elementary School, which were the biggest projects of the day. For another project, pine straw was laid down at Walk of Heroes Veterans Memorial Park. Service projects were completed at the Nancy Guinn Library, local churches, parks, and other local non-profit organizations.
“There was a lot of time spent at the schools and it was very physical work but also very satisfying,” said Denise Yojnich of High Priority Plumbing, one of the coordinators of the event. Yojnich estimated that half of the volunteers were kids who had the opportunity to help at their own schools. Before the event, she was also able to meet with the teachers as they selected plants at Lowes. Yojnich said, “That was the best thing about the planning – the whole process of helping the teachers select plants that would be used to beautify their schools.”
Michael Hutcheson,Executive Director of Rockdale Coalition for Children & Families, coordinates Hands Across Rockdale every year to encourage community service within the community. Hands Across Rockdale is thankful to their sponsors. Because of their generous donations, $4,750 was raised to use in the beautification projects. The main sponsors were the Beech Foundation, High Priority Plumbing, and Acuity Brands.
