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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Dollars make the difference
in Great Days of Service
By
Rachael Shaikun
Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services
Special to GwinnettForum.com
JUNE 1, 2004 -- Imagine being a child who has been sexually abused
receiving counseling at the Gwinnett Sexual Assault Center, or a
foster child staying at the Gwinnett Children's Shelter. You would
most likely feel very scared and alone.
 Now
imagine receiving a teddy bear for comfort, or new clothes to wear
to school, or having a new playground or garden to play in. This
is just an example of the hundreds of projects and thousands of
people helped by the Gwinnett Great Days of Service.
The Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services celebrated
its first Great Day of Service five years ago in the spirit of Gwinnett's
slogan, "Success Lives Here." With more than 80,000 participants
in 2003, Gwinnett Great Days of Service became one of the largest
volunteer events in the country.
The 2004 Great Days of Service will kick off Friday, October 22,
with an opening celebration at Discover Mills. Agencies and volunteers
will then spend the next two days working together to complete specific
projects around the community. The Gwinnett Great Day of Service
is a community event that everyone can get involved in from businesses,
to families, to the mentally disabled at the Hi-Hope Center.
Nonprofit agencies often have projects they either cannot fund
or do not have time to complete. With many people in the community
looking for opportunities to volunteer, Great Days of Service matches
volunteers with specific service projects. Last year volunteers
completed more than 160 projects, which included washing trains,
planting flowers, painting fences or walls, and organizing food,
toy, and clothes drives.
The success of Gwinnett Great Days of Service depends upon volunteers
and sponsors. Many of the supplies needed for the projects are donated
from local businesses or volunteer teams, but there are many unfunded
projects. This year GDOS is celebrating two ways to raise money
for the event: sponsorship of the program, plus a new campaign,
"Dollar Makes a Difference."
Funds recruited from the "Dollar Makes a Difference"
campaign will be used to purchase project supplies. When you sign
up to volunteer on the Great Days of Service Web site, you will
be given an opportunity to donate a one dollar. Participation in
the volunteer event is totally free, but a donation of $1 per person
will help support this event for years to come.
A sponsorship commitment form is also available on the Great Days
of Service Web site. Five levels of sponsorship provide a way for
both large and small businesses to get involved. The $500 "Adopt
a Project Sponsor" would be donating to buy the supplies for
a specific project. For this they would get their logo on one GDOS
publication, and a sign in front of the work site indicating that
that company is sponsoring the project for Great Days of Service.
Other programs include a $1,000 "Twinkling Star Sponsor;"
$2,500 'Shooting Star Sponsor;" $5,000 "Shining Star Sponsor;"
$10,000 "Super Star Sponsor." Deadline for participation
as a sponsor is August 1, 2004.
We look forward to you participation in Gwinnett's Great Days of
Service.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
"On
Eagle's Wings" is hit in Northern Ireland
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
BELFAST, Northern Ireland, June 1, 2004 - - ''On Eagle's Wings''
landed at the Odyssey on Friday and Saturday nights here and scored
a hit with two almost-full houses of accepting patrons.
Using the storyline,''Do you know who you are?'' composer-producer
John Anderson set the stage early for an examination of where people
came from, and where they were going. He combined traditional dance,
song and even comedy to tell a story of the Scots-Irish not told
on such a stage before. It was the world premiere of the extravaganza.
You may remember the Gwinnett Arena was originally supposed to showcase
the initial performance of the drama. However, a mixture of influences
caused the promoters to shift the initial performance to Belfast.
It's anticipated that the live cast will be brought to a bunch of
American cities in the future.
In the audience at the opening night were several promoters from
other countries interested in showcasing the show in other lands.
While it's the Scots-Irish people who surround the story, the theme
is really a universal one, of people feeling oppressed in their
land, and wanting to move to a new land to improve their lot.
While the idea for the drama has been in the mind of Anderson for
years, a strong cast moved the story along easily. Peter Corry,
as the narrator/minister, never missed a beat, giving inspiration
and depth to his performance, while Alyth McCormack sang the female
lead with ease, and added warmth to the production.
The company for the performance was a big one, with over 200 choir
voices. About 20 of the choir members were from Atlanta, while the
entire Maryville (Tenn.) college choir were among the drama's combined
choir. Adding energy to the stage were dancers from six nations,
often performing complicated and athletic dances, including traditional
Scot, Irish and American dances. One number toward the end of the
drama, with costumers in white with cowboy hats, reminded one of
the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.
All during the initial performances, a host of television cameras
zoomed around to capture the scenes. What they shot will be shown
on public broadcasting in the United States in the fall, giving
people throughout America a chance to understand the Scots-Irish
story. The entire operation was partially underwritten out of the
Irish Peace Accords.
The name comes from a ship,which set sail for America from County
Down (south of Belfast) in 1636. The ship, ''Eagle's Wing'', never
made it to the new country, as they interpreted seriously terrible
storms as an omen that they should turn back, even though in view
of Newfoundland. The group was led by a Presbyterian minister, and
included 140 persons.
The story unfolds as telling the story of more than 100,000 Scots
coming first to Ireland (Ulster), and then many of them migrating
to America. Many of them settled in what we know today as Appalachia,
from the Shenandoah Valley, all the way through Virginia, Tennessee,
North and South Carolina and Georgia.
The drama had a definite Gwinnett feeling, with many of the credits
belonging to either Atlantans or Gwinnettians. Among them are the
Gwinnett Council for the Arts, the hudgens Center for the Arts,
the Lawrenceville presbyterian Church, and John Adair and WeatherMark
Sailing Center of Buford. Dr. Jim Flannery and his Irish Studies
program at Emory is also singled out, as is former Ambassador Andrew
Young. Former President Jimmy Carter also wrote a letter of his
support, featured in the program.
We'll key you to seeing the television version of ''On Eagle's Wing''
when it is set for showing on PBS this fall.
ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's featured sponsor is MTI
Whirlpools (Mr. Tubs) of Sugar Hill. MTI specializes in creating
luxury acrylic bath and kitchen products offering many customization
options, and cutting edge innovations such as the patented Fill-Flush
System. With over 52 whirlpool models, 10 kitchen and utility sinks
and 15 shower systems available, MTI's selection provides a wide
range of shapes, styles and prices suitable for any budget and décor.
President of the firm is Kathy Adams. Check out their web site at
http://www.mtiwhirlpools.com
For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm.
McLEMORE'S
WORLD
6/1: Bug love
The latest from cartoonist Bill McLemore:
BOOK
RECOMMENDATION
From Dacula Mayor Jim
Wilbanks
From Dacula Mayor Jim Wilbanks:
"I just finished Zell Miller's book, A National Party No
More: The Conscience of A Conservative Democrat. It is classic
Zell.
"I am starting W. E. B. Griffin's latest book, Retreat
Hell! This is the latest of his Marine Corp series dealing with
the Korean Conflict and the ongoing, behind the scenes clashes between
Truman and MacArthur. I like Griffin's writing. He makes an enjoyable
break from reality with lots of realism and real streaks of fantasy.
All fiction, of course."
- What books have you enjoyed? Send us your best recent book
along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus what
you plan to read next. --eeb
ENCYCLOPEDIA
TIDBIT
6/1: The "Fall
Line" boundary separates plains from piedmont
 The
fall line is a geological boundary that runs across Georgia northeastward
from Columbus to Augusta. It separates Coastal Plain sedimentary
rocks to the south from Piedmont crystalline rocks to the north.
The fall line is notable not only for the geological relationship
but also for the impact that the geology had on early transportation
and consequently on commerce and society.
The falls that give rise to the term fall line are the shoals or
waterfalls caused by the first exposure of crystalline rocks encountered
when traveling upstream in rivers of the Coastal Plain. These falls
represent a barrier to navigation.
Rivers of the Coastal Plain were a major means of commercial transportation
during the 1700s and early 1800s. The cities of Columbus, Macon,
Milledgeville, and Augusta were located at the fall lines of the
Chattahoochee, Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Savannah rivers, respectively.
They became early centers of commerce because of their positions
at the upstream limit of navigation.
To access the Georgia Encyclopedia, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Perhaps best place
for human nature to be weak
"Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?"
-- Novelist Henry Ward Beecher (1813 - 1887).
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