The holiday season has seen the Carter County Community Advisory Board (CAB) stay active with various community projects.
Members convened inside the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library Thursday afternoon and received updates on various issues going on within the county, with the most recent coming in the form of donations items being accepted for local firefighters helping with efforts in Sevier County.
While already in the market to come up with an effort to help emergency personnel, the CAB sprung into action by accepting items after hearing what we needed from departments that are down in the area.
Firefighters from Carter County and Elizabethton have been since the start of this week after the recent strand of fires that engulfed much of Gatlinburg and parts of Pigeon Forge.
During Thursday’s meeting, the back row of the room was full of various items while CAB member Ashlee Williams added that another room in the facility had around the same amount of items thanks to donations from the community.
It was mentioned during the meeting that supplies will be delivered to firefighters on Friday, Dec. 2.
While offering one project to emergency personnel, another project recently finished with high marks, according to CAB member Cheri Tinney.
The organization recently held a clothing giveaway inside the library during Thanksgiving week. With Red Legacy Recovery and the library joining together, a two-day event was held that saw over 1,000 pieces of clothing be taken out. Tinney added the first day saw people lined up outside the library’s front doors right before they opened to take advantage of the opportunity.
Tinney commended the efforts of Red Legacy and added that due to the overwhelming success, the clothing giveaway will be offered during the third Saturday of each month starting December 17. Individuals can donate gently-used clothing items during the days of the event itself or the Friday prior between 4 to 6 p.m. while library employees sets up the room. Volunteer opportunities are also available each giveaway for setup of tables and clothes, along with disassembling of items.
The library is also accepting scarves to be used for a “Scarves on a Pole” initiative from an idea that first began in Minnesota by Elizabeth Sammons in 2015. The idea first began with herself and a co-worker putting five scarves on trees. The idea then boomed to over 1,000 scarves in Saint Paul after the woman was made aware of individuals, whether houseless or just cold, needing ways to stay warm.
Wanting to give back to the community, Tinney added the library is accepting scarves as donations. Once a scarf is placed around a pole, an individual can take it to stay warm and place it back on a pole after using it.
To go along with the different projects, members heard from one organization looking to make a difference.
Jennifer Miller, director of Carter County Drug Prevention, provided an update to attendees about what the organization has been offering to the community during the “community partner highlight” portion of the meeting.
Serving as an outreach to help combat drug use, along with alcohol and tobacco usage, the organization also looks to work with the youth of Carter County.
CCDP offers free tutoring on Tuesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. and also offers a “Youth Hangout in partnership with the Carter County Health Department.
The department is always searching for volunteer tutors, Miller added. For more information on how to get involved, or see what else the facility has to offer, contact Miller via email at jennifer.miller@cartercountydrugprevention.com or visit Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition Facebook page online.