Residents at Garden Plaza of Greenbriar Cove made the Christmas season a little brighter for kids at the Chambliss Center for Children this year.
What started as a donation of carved wooden toys, made by residents at the Cove who formed a Red Hat Society chapter, turned into a bigger project for the eight teenage boys living in the center’s group home.
“We didn’t want to do anything just socially,” Greenbriar resident Charlene Ganzer said of the Red Hat group, typically known for wearing red hats, purple dresses and meeting for tea. “We wanted to volunteer.”
Though the group began awhile ago, it was thanks to a scroll saw course that the women came up with the idea of making the cars for the children.
The group made the toys to bring to Chambliss for the children who are part of the 24-hour day care, which offers sliding scale payments for families who could not otherwise afford to pay for child care.
When Greenbriar Activity Director Christian McDonald heard about the eight boys without foster families, the Red Hat women decided to go even further to ensure each boy received gift cards for Superfly jump park and the movies, as well as cash for clothing or other items.
“It’s kind of hard to squeeze a shopping list out of the boys,” Chambliss Director of Volunteer Services Virginia Rushton said. “So gift cards are ideal.”
Bibs, another item Chambliss’ extended child care children often need, will be made by Cove residents next year, Rushton added.
“We’re going to focus on one thing per quarter next year,” said Ganzer. “So by next Christmas we should have bibs and rattles and presents for every age group. I just wish we could do more.”
Anyone interested in volunteering or learning more about the Chambliss Center’s mission can call Rushton at 468-1126 or email vprushton@chamblisscenter.org. To donate to Chambliss, visit chamblisscenter.com.