During the first week of the kindness
campaign, the youth council gave out over $200 in gift cards to
citizens in Mayfield and Graves County.
Mayfield High School senior,
Bailey Ramage said, “The Kindness Campaign the Youth Council
participated in was such a good way to reach out to those in our
community. Just seeing their faces light up when we randomly handed
them a gift card or served them a meal they wouldn’t have gotten if
it wasn’t for the youth council was touching. It
was an eye opener to all of us, and was a very humbling experience.”
The next event of the campaign was delivering flower arrangements to all 42 residents at Morningside Assisted Living. The youth council hand delivered the arrangements and spent time with the residents. Kitty Elliot. the daughter of Morningside resident Ella Mae Cash, said, “Our family is very appreciative of the thoughtful acts of kindness. Their visit to our mother and the sweet fresh flower arrangement made her day.”
Delivering baked desserts and snacks to our public officials, community workers, and law enforcement was the third event in the youth council campaign. The Youth Council was humbled to give back and say thanks to the people working in our community.
The last event the youth council did in the kindness campaign was hosting a free Thanksgiving meal at Carr’s Steakhouse. There were over 100 people in attendance. The families were chosen by the Family Youth Services Centers at each school in the Mayfield and Graves County. Families that were chosen included single parents, grandparents raising grandchildren, parents who have to work on Thanksgiving, or families who just need a little extra help through the holidays.
Sophomore Cameron Gough said, “I feel as if the most important thing that our community can learn from our kindness campaign is that a little kindness can go a very long way.” Gough continued, “I had the honor to talk to our guests at the Thanksgiving dinner and they were all so grateful for the meal and the kindness the Youth Council showed them.”
Graves County ASAP Program Coordinator, Lauren Carr stated, “Even though we are a drug free group, we are creating emerging leaders in our community, and that is why we felt the Kindness Campaign was so beneficial to the Youth Council. Our motto during this campaign was “We Rise by Lifting Others” and having these youth participate in different activities to give back to the community shows them a sense of gratitude and appreciation.” Carr continued, “Our plan is to continue this campaign every year. We can all use a little more kindness and I think the youth really enjoyed it.”
The goals of the coalition are: “(1) to establish and strengthen collaboration among Graves County ASAP's partner-organizations in support of the community's effort to prevent and reduce youth substance use; and (2) to reduce substance use among youth in Mayfield and Graves County and (3) over time to reduce substance abuse among adults by addressing the issues in our community that increase substance abuse and promoting factors that reduce substance abuse.” The coalition plans to achieve its goals by implementing a comprehensive prevention strategy with parents, youth, and community partners.
The DFC Program was created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997. To learn more about the Graves County Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention, visit the organization’s website at www.gcasap.org.
