Cereal Drive
Each year we have the honor of participating with THV11 to do a food drive to stock the shelves at local food pantries. We participate as a chapter by $500 toward cereal. Each member is also encouraged to donate. As we work together we are able to provide large amounts of cereal to this cause. In 2016 we donated 858 boxes as a whole.
Warm a Child's Heart
This project is all about providing socks and underwear to the schools here in Cabot. At times, children come to school without these items, or in need of replacement. We are happy to provide these annually and as needed throughout the year. This project was accomplished by two local drives, and collection boxes at local churches. We were able to provide 305 items to the schools, and have provided more throughout the years as needed.
Ice Cream Social
The purpose of this project is to connect with the local community and raise awareness about what we do as a chapter. The Cabot Chamber of Commerce hosts the event and we set up a booth which passed out homemade ice cream. It continues to be a great networking event.
Backpacks
The Cabot Schools keep backpacks on hand so they can give them to students as needed. Many children come to school without one, so we aid in getting the schools stocked with these extra backpacks. We accomplished this by working a fundraiser at a local restaurant and having a donation drive. We were able to provide 150 backpacks to the schools in 2016.
Back to School Fair
We partner with the Cabot United Methodist Church to help with their Back to School Fair. At the fair, there are several stations set up and we have the privilege of have the hygiene station. At this station we provide age appropriate hygiene products and bags to each child. This is to help children be prepare for back to school. Other rooms at the event provide food, clothing, hair cuts, etc. It is a great project to be a part of.
Cherry Park Clean-Up
This project is about giving back to the community. We sponsor a local park where were do an annual clean up. We partner with our high school club: The Crown Club to accomplish this. We clean the area and provide other services as needed. In 2016 we moved over 100 bags of debris and trash.
Dental Screenings
Dental hygiene is extremely important to focus on at a young age. We promote this by working with pre-k and 2nd grade at every Cabot elementary to provide awareness and education. We partner with local dentists to arrange the screening. Dentist look at the children's teeth and fill out a form that goes home to parents. This lets parents know if the child needs dental attention at the time. We had several dentists report and improvement in the dental health of the children seen in 2016-2017. We also hand out toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss to each child. We saw about 1,200 children in 2016-2017.
Charity Ball
This is one of our main fundraisers that helps us gain access to funds so we can give to the children of Cabot. This event is full of entertainment for guests including food, drinks, live music, silent auction, live auction, and other activities. A large portion of the proceeds from this event goes toward buying Christmas gifts for local children. In 2016 we raised $22,500.
Christmas Blessing
We provide Christmas gifts to children who are referred to us by the schools. Through our fundraising, local donations, and toy drives, we were able to purchase gifts for 211 children. Each kid received a jacket, a pair of shoes, 2 pair of pants, 2 shirts, toys and/or hygiene bags. This is a very rewarding project and has grown immensely over the years.
Community Based Toy Drive
This type of toy drive allows us to plug in to the community and get others involved in local giving. We contacted several business who then agreed to be drop locations for toys. These toys went toward the Christmas Blessing and allowed us to give to even more children.
Reading First
This literacy project is to encourage the love of reading and to provide children with a book of their own. Members of our chapter go to each elementary and read to all second grade students. After visiting and reading, the members hand out a book to each kid to take home with them. The books are focused on promoting positive self esteem and are picked by a local elementary principle.
Strawberry Festival
This event is one of our main fundraising projects. This event is focused on family fun and helps us promote local strawberry growers. At this festival we have live entertainment, a carnival, kid zone, food trucks, vendors, 5k race, pageant, and of course strawberries! In 2017 we are proud to announce a nationally recognized entertainmentheadliner: Barrett Baber. In 2016 we raised over $25,000 to go toward our welfare projects.
#itsagirlthing
The purpose of this event is to promote positive self esteem with middle school girls. We go into each of the middle schools and work with the girls on healthy body image, positive relationships, and safety. We have local folks from Cabot join us in this project: guest speakers, local law enforcement, and local fitness instructors. Its a great afternoon of fun and provides us a positive way to work directly with the girls.