MEGA IMPACT WEEK IN MOULTRIE & COLQUITT COUNTY IS UPON US!
Saturday, March 23 - Thursday, March 28, 2013
It’s the week in which over 100 University of Tennessee students and staff spend their Spring Break week giving themselves away to serve the City of Moultrie and Colquitt County through building and repair work on homes and/or non-profit facilities in Colquitt County.
Most of the UT students are associated with The Cross Ministry, which primarily reaches out to the Greek organization population on campus. Heritage Church in Moultrie hosts the group and coordinates the work projects, but many churches and organizations in the community partner together to make the week a success every year.
This year’s focus is on families with children or adults with special needs and disabilities. The week kicks off with the Family Fun Day Celebration & Breathe Ministry 5K, 10K and 1-Mile Fun Run on Saturday, March 23, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Heritage Church (844 Hwy 33 South - Pavo Road). Breathe is the ministry at Heritage Church that caters to the community's families with special needs children and adults. The race will benefit The Breathe Center which is currently in development. The facility will be a state-of-the-art multi-sensory environment. Such environments have been proven to help people with special needs to learn and interact better. The UT students will be working on that facility during their week here. Once open, the Breathe Center will also host informational classes for parents about issues relavant to them and their children through the support of Parent 2 Parent of Georgia. The Center will also hold classes such as music, dance and art for Breathe participants. Free respite services will be provided one night a month to allow parents and caregivers to take a break.
In addition to an invitation to the race on Saturday, March 23, Mega Impact organizers are inviting all families with special needs from Colquitt County to attend the event, which will have a carnival atmosphere and even a wheelchair race. The event will be offered to these families at no charge and will conclude at 1:00 p.m. So, if you need some good weekend news, Moultrie is your place to be on Saturday morning!
The following week, Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28, the work projects this year are aimed primarily to benefit individuals with disabilities. Projects include improvements at two adult group homes. At least seven wheelchair ramps will be constructed all over the county and funded by the Colquitt Regional Medical Center Foundation. The UT teams will replace a roof for a cancer survivor and add a handicapped bath unit in the home of a young man with cerebral palsy whose family has throughout his life lifted him in and out of the bathtub. Two other projects include painting at a homeless shelter and at the home of a family with two adult sons who have autism. The UT students will work Monday through Thursday, and each night churches in the community will feed them.
At any point during the construction project phase of Mega Impact Week March 25-28, you may contact Heritage Church Discipleship Coordinator Cheryle Reeves at (229) 891-0471 or Breathe Ministry Director Nettie Hatcher at (229) 848-2685. They will be at the work sites and can assist you there. At Saturday's race and family event.
