BY CONNIE S. SMITH, ED.

Laurens County Family Connection Peer Leadership Program kicked off Hands On Georgia Week 2007 by joining all 159 counties in Georgia, flooding the state with more than 30,000 volunteers to tackle the pressing needs of their communities. Sponsored by AGL Resources, Georgia's Electric Membership Corporations, Georgia Natural Gas, InterContinental Hotels, and SunTrust Directed Funds, the week of service ran Sept. 29 through Oct. 6.

Laurens County Family Connection Peer Leadership Group. In front: Cambria, a third-grader. Middle row, from left: Tawatha McMiller, Jerica Thomas, Jessica Blash, Dominika Stephens, Ashley Betton, Lamesa Brazil. Back row: Morgan Blount, Yusef Smith, Ciera Spaulding, Dagne Nelson, Kesha Height, Darnell Taylor

Hands On Georgia Week celebrates service and civic engagement through a week of community service activities across the state. In Laurens County, members of the Family Connection Peer Leadership Program provided arts and crafts activities to residents of Dublinair Health Care and Rehab Center. Twelve area teens in grades 10-12 and one third-grader gave up their Thursday afternoon to spend time with, and engage, senior citizens in fun activities.

Each year, thousands of Georgians, young and old, rely on volunteers to help change their lives for the better. Service to one's community is a beautiful thing. An individual's enthusiasm can spark the movement of an entire community. Hands On Georgia Week was created to ignite Georgians' passion to volunteer and serve their neighbors to help improve the communities like Dublin/Laurens County.

Leadership memeber Jessica Blash helps a local nursing home resident make a beaded bracelet.

Hands On Georgia is a statewide network that supports innovative volunteer approaches to meeting Georgia's critical needs through service and civic engagement. Hands On Georgia calls upon the citizens of Georgia to help tackle tough issues in our state through volunteer service and engaged citizenship. The network is made up of 19 member organizations across the state, including the communities of Adairsville, Athens, Atlanta, Columbus, Dalton, Dooly County, Forsyth County, Glynn and McIntosh Counties, Hall County, Harlem, Liberty County, Macon, Milledgeville, Newton County, Statesboro, Rome/Floyd County, Savannah, Wayne County and Thomas County.

Connie Smith is executive director of Laurens County Family Connection.

For more information on Hands On Georgia, call 404-979-2842, or visit www.handsongeorgia.org.

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