Toombs County Family Connection

https://gafcp.org//georgia-ranks-38th-in-the-nation-for-/

This is amazing!!!!!!! We are so happy for our friends at the library AND for our community! What a blessing! Thank you to Dr. Mark and Tonya Spivey.

We are so excited to announce the 4th annual Community Wide Back to School Bash is scheduled For August 7, 2021. Both of our public school systems begin school on August 6th so we hope You’ll come out the following day to grab Some school supplies and enjoy some time with your family AND your community! More details to come..

OPEN and ACCESSIBLE 24 HOURS PER DAY

Dear Partners, I just learned that heaven gained our longtime partner and friend, Ms. Sandy Roberts. Sandy was one of the most selfless servants I’ve ever met. She worked for 20+ Years at the Salvation Army, helping thousands of people in our community over the years. She was a community leader a strong advocate For the often unseen and marginalized. She spoke truth and was respected because of it. She knew how to hold a boundary and keep people accountable YET she was incr...edibly kind and fair to those who had the privilege of knowing her. To say she will be missed barely skims the surface in describing the gaping hole she’ll leave in our county. Sandy was a phenomenal woman that played a huge part in the WORK we do. She assisted people when they were at their lowest point without accolades or a high salary. She was incredibly hard working and an absolute force to be reckoned with. Our community has lost a true angel. Please keep her family and friends in your prayers.

Want to get your kids to read more in 2021? Here is an excellent article from Brightly broken down by age groups with tips on how to do just that! One easy way ...to get your child interested in reading is for you to get really excited when your child's new book arrives! http://ow.ly/WFsP50D1qUL #ferstreaders #readingisfun #readeveryday #literacyforlittles See more

We are very aware of the rising demand for the COVID-19 vaccine among eligible individuals. Because of the storage and administration requirements of the COVID-...19 vaccine, strict procedures must be followed. In turn, this means scheduling appointments is A MUST. We will NOT administer vaccine to anyone who arrives at one of our mass vaccination sites or health department sites without an appointment, even if you are eligible. If you do not show up for your scheduled appointment, your dose will be allotted for someone else. Due to the nature of the vaccine and mutli-dose packaging, scheduling must be highly coordinated and strictly adhered to. Please do not arrive at one of our sites without having a scheduled appointment. We are also aware that many of you have encountered issues when attempting to schedule an appointment utilizing our scheduling procedures. Please know that this upcoming week will not be the only week to receive vaccines for those who are now eligible under the expanded definition of Phase 1A beginning January 11. It is simply the beginning. Additional vaccine opportunities for vaccine administration may be available from additional providers in your area, and more opportunities will be added as vaccine supply allows. If you receive a busy signal when attempting to contact our call center, try again at a later time. As previously shared, we are experiencing a very high volume and are responding as quickly as we are able. We are continually working to resolve technical issues as they arise, and we are in the process of adding additional staff to respond to our volume of calls even more quickly. At this time, there is no alternative method to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment other than contacting our call center. We know this is inconvenient, but this is our scheduling mechanism. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

First, I want to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of love and support during what has become the most difficult time in my families life. As most of... you know, we lost my nephew, Gunner, on November 3rd. While I will say it was totally unexpected and shocking, I don’t know that anyone could ever be prepared for this kind of pain. I have been wanting to send a message or write something so everyone can understand what happened- I know people are curious and mostly for the right reasons. I know most of you are truly concerned for me and my family. I appreciate that. I feel it’s important to tell Gunner’s story for 3 reasons: #1- Gunner was an amazing kid who deserved the life he won’t get the chance to live so I owe him his story to be told. #2- I want to clear up any misconceptions and give the facts. #3- Gunner’s story could very well save your child’s life so please, share his story. The short version: Gunner went out with friends on Friday night. They came back to my brothers house late and stayed up eating pizza and playing video games- like most 19 year old boys do. At some point during the evening, Gunner, and his friend, took a pill stamped Percocet. The very popular and easily accessible pain killer. Gunner has no history of drug use, has never been a problem child, was a star athlete, wonderful son and brother and was extremely loved in his community. We don’t know why he decided to take a pill that night. The only thing we can assume is that the curiosity of knowing what the high is like came into play? Again, we can only assume. His friend also took a pill. Both boys died what we think was pretty immediately. Both went to sleep and never woke up. -That’s the most positive thing in Gunner’s whole story- that he felt no pain & didn’t suffer. (Although, positive is a generous way of putting it). My sister in law, his mother, found both boys the next morning. She, and my nieces, tried to resuscitate to no avail. Both boys had been dead for hours and there was nothing they, or the paramedics could do. The pills Gunner and his friend took were at the very least laced with fentanyl. We are still waiting on reports but there is a good chance it was more then 50% fentanyl. That’s enough poison to kill 10 adult males. According to the detective working on Gunner’s case, to draw comparison for perspective, 2 grains of table salt size of fentanyl will kill any adult. Think about that. Gunner never had a chance. I’m sharing Gunner’s story because Gunner had a whole life ahead of him. He had goals and aspirations. He wanted to be a dad. He wanted to continue to play football and baseball in college. He wanted to go hunting and fishing with this grandpa. Gunner wasn’t done. One bad choice, one stupid minor mistake was all it took. Gunner never had a chance. It’s very natural to be curious and want to experiment with things at Gunner’s age. Remember when we were in HS and kids considered experimenting with cigarettes?? It’s a different time now. Kids are experimenting with pills because they think they’re safe. They’ve seen them in their parents medicine cabinets from their moms car accident last year or from when their dad threw out his back. They seem harmless. These aren’t the pills in your parents medicine cabinet. They are made in someone’s garage who is trying to make a buck...a buck at the expense of our children’s lives. THERE CAN BE NO EXPERIMENTING. None. It’s truly a matter of life or death. You can’t see fentanyl. You can’t smell fentanyl. Tell your kids Gunner’s story. Show them his picture. I can’t describe the amount of pain my brother, sister-in-law and Gunner’s sisters are going through- a pain that will NEVER end. A hole that will NEVER be filled. A life that will never be brought back. A beautiful life. Gone forever.

Several of you asked about the new recovery house for men in our community. Here it is -

M Squared Thank you for choosing to support Family Connection this holiday season! Because of your generous donation, many local children will zip up a nice, warm jacket this Christmas. We are honored to be the recipient of your love and kindness, and we are beyond grateful for your care and concern for children in our community. You are the absolute best! L to R: Paige Williamson, Toombs Family Connection, Mary Edmonds, M Squared, and Tonya Green Parker, Downtown Vidalia Association #msquared #vidaliaga #vidaia #downtownvidaliaassociation

Family Connection’s Region 9 Christmas Party // Thank you to Pastor Joseph Akins and Faith Assembly of God in Lyons for providing us the space to connect and celebrate last week.

December Family Connection Meeting Today at 9 via Zoom. Please let us know if you’d like to join us and I’ll send you the info.

Important read!

THANK YOU so much to the Citizens of GA Power (Vidalia and Plat Hatch chapter) and Chick-fil-A Vidalia for sponsoring the first ever Lyons-Vidalia Coat & Toy Drive. What a blessing! We love your hearts to serve families and children and we are honored to call you a partner. Thank you for including us in this special project. We will make sure these toys and coats brighten the faces of many young boys and girls this Christmas! #partnership #communitypartners #bestcommunity #georgiapower #toyandcoatdrive @chickfilavidalia

Alright y’all - 9 am -2 pm TODAY Please come see us and grab a bit to eat while You’re at it! We Promise that these toys and coats will get to children in need!

In November, we enjoyed partnering with the Vidalia Rotary Club for their annual Thanksgiving outreach program. We are so grateful to our Rotarians for their strong support of children in our community. This was the fifth year that Family Connection has had the privilege of serving as the liaison between VRC and local families in need. Because of the club’s kindness and generosity, fifty families received turkeys and all the trimmings this year! What a blessing!

We are excited to partner with Citizens of GA Power (Vidalia and Plant Hatch chapters) and Chick-Fil-A Vidalia Britt McDade to collect new toys and coats for local children NEXT WEEKEND at Chick-fil-A! Mark your calendars and come see us Friday from 3-6 pm or Saturday 9 am - 2 pm. Please share with your friends, family, church, organization, and civic groups.