About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2022)
6A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, September 7,2022 Photos by Erica Jones Dawson County News Students and staff at Kilough Elementary School, along with representatives from the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and the Dawson County Woman's Club, cut the ribbon on the school's new lending library. Lending library at Kilough Elementary opens By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com On Tuesday Aug. 30, the Dawson County Woman’s Club and the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce officially cut the ribbon on the new lend ing library at Kilough Elementary School. The little lending library sits outside of the elemen tary school and contains books for a variety of read ing levels and about a vari ety of subjects. Children in the community who come to the library will be encouraged to take a book home to read and leave another book for others to borrow. “It’s all about loving to read; as my dad would say, ‘if you love to read you’re never lonely’,” Woman’s Club member MG Finch explained to dozens of Kilough’s students during the ribbon cutting ceremo ny. According to Finch, the library was funded in mem ory of Woman’s Club member Helen Taylor, who passed away but whose love of reading will live on through projects like the lending library. The lending library was designed and built in great part by Kilough’s media specialist, Kristi Bearden, and the school resource officer, Officer Grizzle, KES Principal Teresa Conowal said. “Kristi is just amazing at creating things and Officer Grizzle helped us design and build it in partnership with her,” Conowal said. “I want to thank the Dawson County Woman’s Club, the Chamber of Commerce and all the partners that spent a lot of time making this happen for us.” Before cutting the ribbon on the new library, Dawson County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mandy Power encouraged the students in attendance to make use of the library and congratulat ed the school and the Woman’s Club on bringing the project to fruition. .i . SK T, - nfc —c= i • VW * r Representatives from the Dawson County Woman's Club stand with Kilough Elementary School's new lending library, which was funded by the club in memory of late member HelenTaylor. “We are so excited to be Kilough Elementary,” ing library right here!” Kilough Elementary here to celebrate such an Power said. “Now you The new lending library School, 1063 Kilough awesome new addition to have your very own lend- is located in front of Church Road. Rides to Remember event returning to AMP Sept. 10 By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com This weekend, Rides to Remember will return to Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville, aimed at providing a day of fun and bringing a smile to the faces of childhood cancer patients and their families. The annual event serves to pro vide financial support to three area charities: Camp Sunshine, Atlanta Ronald McDonald House and CURE Childhood Cancer. During the event, child hood cancer patients are driven around the AMP racetrack in Ferraris, Maseratis and other exotic luxury vehicles. This year’s event will mark the 16th year of Rides to Remember, and for the first time, the top earners in the charity event will get to ride shotgun during the final laps with a renowned Ferrari race car driver, dubbed “The Pony” in a play on a myste rious driver from a popular British television show. According to a press release, the competition to ride with The Pony will pit Rides to Remember drivers and major fundraisers against each other to help raise $200,000 for the three charities. “The addition of The Pony will bring even more smiles to the children that deserve it most,” Ferrari of Atlanta General Sales Manager Craig Forbes said in the release. “We are always looking for ways to make the day as spe cial as possible while helping us reach our fundraising goal of $200,000. We look forward to The Pony’s debut and to our win ners and attendees finding out who is really behind the wheel.” The Pony’s identity will be revealed during the Rides to Remember event. Rides to Remember will take place at AMP on Sept. 10. Participants will check in beginning at 9 a.m., drivers will arrive at 10 a.m. and the clos ing ceremony and pony laps will be at 12:30 p.m. Lunch will also be served by Ruby’s Recipes and Loaded Burger food trucks. For more information about Rides to Remember, go to https ://ridestoremember.org/. Need for more foster, respite homes persists in Dawson County By Julia Fechter jfechter@dawsonnews.com Of the 56 local children in foster care, only one could stay in Dawson County due to a lack of available foster homes and families, said Sarah Swann with the Dawson County Division of Children and Family Services. There are currently three open homes in the whole county, 10 total beds, to cover the needs of children entering foster care in Dawson County, said DCFS Caregiver Recruitment and Retention Unit Case Manager Autumn Horsley. Kelsey Harrison, the Director of Support Services for Dawson-based nonprofit The Way Home, called the reloca tion of children “a barrier to partnership parenting and, there fore, a significant impediment to reunification.” The Way Home has joined other area nonprofit organiza tions in spreading awareness about local foster and respite needs through recent meetings and events. Homes are needed in Dawson County for teenagers, sibling groups and for emergency and respite care situations, Harrison explained in an email to DCN. “Teenagers, sibling groups, and medically fragile children are historically ‘difficult to place,”’ Harrison said. “We need foster families who will readily accept placements of this nature.” With a similar lack of licensed respite families, foster parents who often already look after long-term placements of their own are having to provide respite care for other families. That “increases the potential for burnout and compassion fatigue” and relegates foster families to having to use respite care in neighboring counties. Whenever possible, the goal is to keep children with people they know in order to support feelings of connection and felt- safety, thus serving to minimize trauma, she added. Nonprofit background Harrison shared that she and the organization’s founder, Julia Fleming, both fostered and adopted through foster care. “In many ways, through The Way Home, we are simply endeavoring to ‘fill the gaps’ in resources, relationships, and support services (like training, coaching, and counseling),” Harrison said. “That is to say, reflecting on 10-plus years of experience with children from hard places is the driving force behind what we seek to offer.” The Way Home got plugged in with Dawson County DFCS several months ago when Rebecca Bliss with Family Connection invited them to a meeting, followed by the July “Family Fair” event at Dawsonville’s Main Street Park. Harrison was recently offered and accepted a position as the Family Connection board’s non profit representative. She explained that The Way Home considers the needs of children and their foster and biological families in its approach. “We believe that when people are aware of the needs in our community, they will rise to the occasion of meeting those needs,” Harrison said. In addition to recruiting and supporting foster and respite parents, The Way Home’s goals in Dawson County include pro moting reunification; providing caregivers with training, coun seling and creative wellness group services; and providing the support necessary for fami lies with CPS involvement. For the nonprofit, that also means actively working to shift the negative narrative often associated with foster care and creating ways for people to use their abilities to serve families. “We recognize that not every one can take placement of foster children, but we wholeheartedly believe that, when it comes to supporting foster children and the families who love them, everyone has a part to play,” Harrison added. How to help People can help local chil dren in need individually or as part of a larger group. One option is to write a check designated to Dawson County Family Connection. Donation checks can be mailed to: Dawson County Family Connection, PO Box 82, Dawsonville, GA 30534. Another way is to take part in The Way Home’s annual fall fundraiser, scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 22 from 7-9 p.m. at Accent Cellars in Dahlonega. Fundraiser oppor tunities will include table spon sorships and donating goods and services for silent auction baskets. Other activities will be a raf fle; live music, dessert, coffee and wine; and a pop-up bou tique. People are also welcome to attend to learn more about the nonprofit and how to get involved. General admission is free, and VIP tickets are available for pur chase. Details can be found at www.thewayhome.us or by emailing social @thewayhome.us with any questions. All proceeds will go toward hosting free community events and providing tangible resources and support services for foster children and their foster, adop tive, and biological families. Those interested in becoming a foster and/or respite family can contact either Autumn Horsley at (706) 502-4682. They can also contact Kelsey Harrison at (770) 315-3383 or kelsey@theway- home.us. Churches who want to get involved in helping can sign up with nonprofit Project686’s CarePortal, a faith-based support network for vulnerable children and families. For more information on that option, you can go to project686. org or contact FAM Specialist and CarePortal Regional Manager Jean Rector at (678) 984-3220 or jean@promise686. org.
