Some Community Outreach volunteering activities are just plain fun! A group of Carolina Meadows residents from The Green (our Memory Care Unit) joined members of the Community Outreach Volunteers Committee and Carolina Meadows staff to fill 40  ”Birthday Bags” for the CORA Food Pantry (www.chathamoutreachalliance.org) in Pittsboro.

CORA welcomes direct donations of supplies to stock its Birthday Closet. Believing that every child should have a birthday celebration, CORA makes Birthday Bags available to families who have children with birthdays in the month when they receive food. The bags, which are age and gender appropriate, contain party supplies and small treats. Our Strategic Initiatives and Outreach Department provided the bags and supplies for the project.

One morning, residents set up an assembly line to fill each shiny bag with cake mix, frosting, paper plates and cups, candy, balloons, and a coloring book. In the afternoon, they enjoyed an outing with The Green’s Activities Director, Cari Owens, to deliver the bags in person to CORA. Residents liked the idea of brightening the lives of children in families struggling to stretch their dollars for essential food items. No doubt they will be doing it again.