#GivingTuesday

Today has been designated as “#Giving Tuesday” – a day of donating to follow the self-indulgent Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Let me be the first to say that changing lives through the work of a nonprofit organization is hard work and financial donations are the key to making it all possible.

But today rather than focusing exclusively on financial gifts to ConnectAbility, I want to celebrate the hard work and hundreds of hours of our volunteers who GIVE way more than once a year! So, take a few minutes with me to celebrate these amazing folks.

Butch & Angie Walker:img_9111

Butch and his wife Angie Walker are extraordinary people and we are blessed to have them in our community! Butch is actively involved with Lumpkin County Habitat for Humanity, North Georgia Interfaith Ministries, Dahlonega Baptist Church and is the coordinator for the Annual Side by Side in Service Day. Whenever someone in Dahlonega has a need, Butch is usually the first phone call I make. For over 5 years, Butch has volunteered with ConnectAbility to provide transportation to our friends who live at Northwoods & Evergreen assisted living facility in Dahlonega – like James & Archie pictured here. img_0238Dahlonega Baptist generously donates the use of their church van each month and Butch has driven our friends back and forth so many times. In fact, we estimate that over the years Butch has driven about 1,000 miles with our ConnectAbility friends. Amazing! And let me say, if you never got to tag along on one of Butch’s drives, you have missed out on some fun! After logging all these miles, Butch has “retired” as the official ConnectAbility driver and we are excited to welcome Carl to the driver’s seat. Thank you Butch for giving your time to help so many people have a fun and vibrant social life.

In addition to driving the equivalent of Dahlonega to Canada, Butch has been instrumental in making the dream of the expanded ConnectAbility office become a reality. Starting with a workday with Side by Side in April 2016, Butch connected numerous great volunteers who gave large amounts of time, material and expertise to enable people of all abilities to enjoy our office space and allow us to expand the services we provide to the community. img_1039

Angie is a registered nurse who currently works in hospice. For all the years that Butch has been driving the van, Angie has been faithfully serving as our medical professional at each monthly event. Angie has been a consistent presence in our youngest class where we have several young kids with complex medical needs. She is usually seen cuddling and caring for our babies but is always ready to help with a band aid, check blood pressure and offer some TLC for anyone who needs it.156 It’s such a gift to have a consistent volunteer to get to know our little ones and their families. Parents rest assured that their sweet babies are in good hands while they enjoy some time to themselves. Angie is joining Butch in “retirement” from her post with ConnectAbility and we appreciate the many miles she’s rocked babies, bandaged boo boos and comforted our friends who have a minor injury.

Another face you will see in the youngest class is Susan Cheatham. Susan is the longest term volunteer that is currently working with ConnectAbility. 155Susan began working at our monthly events with the elementary age group while she was wrapping up a 30 year career teaching special education. Her classroom experience and wisdom was so helpful as we developed our kids’ programs years ago. After the birth of her first grandson Jackson, Susan’s post moved to the 0-2 class taking care of our sweet babies where she is now the Lead Volunteer. Susan gets to know each child in the group and has never hesitated to learn and care for any complicated need such as feeding tubes, oxygen, suction machines and specialized positioning equipment. Susan makes sure that each child participates in the activities and has fun while experiencing the fun of East egg hunts, photos with Santa and meeting therapy dogs. The first elementary kids that Susan helped with at ConnectAbility are now in high school and beyond. Many babies have also graduated from Susan’s care to our other age groups and we are all blessed to have Susan in our lives!img_9227

In addition to all her work with ConnectAbility, Susan is also a foster parent and a very active grandmother. Thank you Susan for giving so generously!

Amanda Avant came to ConnectAbility as a shy and quiet high school student with her friend Heidi Valdez (Amanda is on the left in the picture below, Heidi is right next to her). Amanda got plugged in and now is a graduate student studying Occupational Therapy at Brenau! (Heidi moved to Savannah to attend Savannah College of Art & Design and comes to visit us when she is home!) We are so proud of Amanda and her loyal volunteer career with ConnectAbility. img_9091For several years now, Amanda has served as Lead Volunteer in our Pre-School age class with kids ages 3-6. img_4075Amanda and Stella have a special relationship and have been great buddies for years. When we need someone reliable to step up and commit to helping with ConnectAbility, Amanda is always in the mix. Dozens of children with disabilities and their brothers & sisters have benefitted from Amanda’s kind and consistent personality. I know her experience at ConnectAbility will make her an amazing OT and we hope that she will stay in the area (hint, hint!) but wherever she goes, Amanda will be an incredible blessing to others. Thank you Amanda for sharing your time and talents with us!img_9240

None of these amazing volunteers would be able to serve without the generosity of donors who contribute financially to ConnectAbility! In fact, we are able to offer ALL ConnectAbility programs at no charge to families because of our wonderful group of financial supporters. By all means, if you are inspired to make a donation to ConnectAbility or any other charity today – DO IT!

But let’s not focus on giving today because it’s #GivingTuesday – the “day” of the year when we do that. Let’s not check that off our lists like we do Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Let’s strive to live a life of generosity, making Giving Tuesday happen every week. And even every day! Start today with the people around you.

Thank you to each person who gives time and financial support to make ConnectAbility a reality. Your gifts are valued and appreciated deeply.