Congratulations to all Cherokee County students who have completed another successful year of school! We hope you enjoy your summer break!

The BSSL is proud to have chosen two graduating Cherokee High School Seniors to receive the Lexine Harper Memorial Book Scholarship. Joshua Freeman and Luke Bundrum will both receive $1,500.00 each toward their first year of college. Our scholarship recognizes exemplary seniors graduating from Cherokee County high schools who have committed themselves to the service of others in the community. Congratulations Joshua and Luke!

By the end of the summer our Summer Lunch Program will have made 2,500 lunches. Our program coordinates with local churches and organizations to make lunches for Cherokee County school children that don’t have access to school lunches during the summer months.
We need more volunteers! Please call Susan Gaines for dates/times.
The Summer Lunch program and our Food Drive program in the fall are both terrific opportunities for families to volunteer together and we ALWAYS welcome new volunteers!

On July 14th at 3pm in the Terrace we will be packing bags for our Give A Kid A Chance (GAKAC) program. If you would like to volunteer please contact Lynn Weimer. GAKAC’s goal is to help equip low- income families for the upcoming school year. With the help of various local organizations and the Cherokee County school district GAKAC provides low- income children with such necessities as dental, hearing and vision screenings, backpacks with school supplies, haircuts, clothing, and lunch.

BSSL’s Relay for Life team wrapped up the year by raising a total of $10,500.00! Our BSSL team took home the Most Spirited Team Award by rocking the Olympic Games theme! Relay for Life of Cherokee County is a carnival- like celebration and reflection of all those who have been affected by cancer. Relay for Life is The American Cancer Society’s largest fundraiser of the year that raises funds for cancer research, better treatments, and services for cancer patients.

If you would like to have fun AND make a difference in your community please contact BSSL president Susan Gaines.

It may be chilly outside but there are tell-tale signs that spring is right around the corner.  Our days are getting longer, daffodils are pushing their way to the sun, and it’s time for our monthly meeting.

Please join us Thursday March 17^th at The Terrace at 6:30pm. We are pleased to announce our guest speaker, Cherokee County’s Chief Deputy Joe Perkins, will present an abbreviated C.R.A.S.E. seminar at 7pm. C.R.A.S.E. stands for “Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events”. The course was developed by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University and is now taught nationwide. This abbreviated seminar will provide BSSL members and guests with strategies, guidance and plans for surviving an active shooter event. This is an open meeting and everyone is welcome to attend.

Applications for the Lexine Harper Memorial Scholarship are now being accepted.
This scholarship is based on service to the community and is available to graduating Cherokee County High School Seniors.  Please visit bssl.org to download an application.  Mail your completed application to BSSL, 3760 Sixes Road, Suite 126, Box 185, Canton, GA. 30114.  Deadline for all applications is April 18, 2016.

 

Whether it’s a focus on community safety, the betterment of our county’s children and families, women’s health issues our just getting to know your neighbors- The BSSL is a group worth looking into!

 

Mark your calendars for BSSL’s upcoming events:

Classics for Charity: May 1st (with rain date of May 7th).

This month our meeting will be held at The Children’s Haven. The mission of The Children’s Haven is to promote the health and happiness of foster children impacted by abuse. Through their programs they work to build successful children by increasing their safety and improve their educational, social and emotional functioning. The newly opened facility was created to give foster kids in Cherokee County the opportunity to succeed by bringing a variety of support programs under one roof.

The Children’s Haven is a not-for-profit that evolved from the organization originally known as CASA for Children, an organization which the BSSL has supported for years. This will be a great opportunity for BSSL members and guests alike to see first hand how valuable this organization is to our community.
Deidre Hollands, Director of The Children’s Haven will be our guest speaker. Our group will also get a tour of the facility. If you would like to get involved and have fun while making a difference in our community, please join us and bring a friend. Everyone is welcome! Together we can make a difference!

BridgeMill Sixes Service League Meeting
Thursday February 18^th at 7pm
at Children’s Haven
1083 Marietta Highway Canton GA 30114
Our March meeting will be held on Thursday, March 17^th at 7pm at the Terrace in BridgeMill.

For more information on the BridgeMill –Sixes Service League, visit our website at www.bssl.org and like us on facebook or contact Susan Gaines at susan2020@aol.com.

November is the month that we should remember to be Thankful. I am thankful that the sun has finally returned and that we didn’t experience the flooding that occurred in the Carolinas.  I know that as I sit down to Thanksgiving dinner this year, I will remember to say a prayer for all of the people who lost their lives and their homes in the flood.

 

Thank you so much to the committee who worked tirelessly for the past several months to organize our Sixth Annual Golf Fore Charity event: Jay and Marlyn  Patouillet,  Suzanne Taylor, Jim Mein, Kathy and Darryl Fulton, Steve Zahorodny, Jon Subacz, Pam Yagoda, Susan Staudt, Caroline Zipkin, and  Nicole Shippy. Thank you to all members of the BSSL and community volunteers who helped with registration of the golfers, the silent auction and who were outside on the golf course during the wind and the rain. Finally a special thank you to the 86 golfers, without you this year wouldn’t have been such a huge success. Even with the terrible weather, you showed up. Thank you to our community for purchasing raffle tickets and bidding on our silent auction items.  Once again because of the generosity of so many, the BSSL will continue to help charities in Cherokee County. Thank you to Meg Rogers and her staff at Cherokee Family Violence Center for attending our luncheon and sharing information about CFVC’s role in helping families afflicted with violence.

Thank you in advance for placing your plastic bag at the curb on NOVEMBER 7^th.  Your non-perishables will be delivered to MUST ministries in Canton. We will help to restock their shelves in preparation for Thanksgiving. Help us along with surrounding communities and churches take care of families in Cherokee county who are less fortunate. MUST notified us that there is a special need for Cranberry Sauce, Canned Sweet Potatoes, Boxes of Mashed Potatoes, Mac and Cheese, Cornbread Muffin Mix, and packets of Gravy Mix. If you have any questions please contact Susan Gaines at susangaines2020@aol.com.

 

Thank you members of the BSSL for always asking, “What else can we do?” See you on November 19^th at the Terrace at 7PM.  Don’t forget that this is the last meeting of 2015 and that elections for next year’s board will be taking place.  Our SCAT item for this month is children’s winter coats.  This month we will be decorating a Christmas tree at R.T. Jones Library in Canton and next month we will be singing at a senior center.  For additional information, please contact Ruth Clark, President of the BSSL, at RuthJClark1953@comcast.net.

OPEN INVITATION

This is an open invitation to all past members of the BSSL. We are celebrating our 15th year and asking past members to clear their calendars for August 20th at 7PM. We would love to celebrate our Welcome Back meeting with you. Some of the current members don’t know the history of our organization and would love to hear your stories. Please leave a message for Nicole Shippy at bsslmember@gmail.com if you will be attending. We hope you can join us.

The Barbara Nugent Summer Lunch Program was a huge success again this summer. Special thanks to Susan Gaines, Linda Emore and Judy West for organizing and purchasing all of the items needed to make 2500 delicious lunches for children of Cherokee County. Lunches were delivered Monday to Friday in 8 Georgia Counties serving over 8000 children daily. This summer we helped provide over 250,000 lunches to children in Georgia. Thank you members of BSSL and your children for helping prepare sandwiches and assembling the lunch bags for distribution.

Our other project for the summer was providing Hygiene Bags for parents of children that received free backpacks at Give A Kid A Chance in July. In addition these children received free haircuts, dental checkups, eye exams, clothing, stuffed animals and free books. Thanks so much Lynne Weimer and Caroline Zipkin for leading this project for the second year. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank all of the woman and children who showed up to pack and transport the Hygiene Bags. We couldn’t have worked so efficiently without your help.

The next scheduled meeting of the BSSL will be on August 20th at the Terrace at 7PM. Don’t forget to bring your SCAT items to the meeting. This month we are collecting prepackaged snacks for Elementary children. No peanuts please.

I can’t believe the summer is just flying by. The Bridge Mill Sixes Service League is in full swing with the Barbara Nugent Summer Lunch Program to provide lunches for children in Cherokee County who would receive free lunch during the school year. Thank you so much to co-chairs Susan Gaines, Linda Emore and Judy West for all of the organizing and shopping that you have done in order for the summer lunch program to run. Thank you to all the women, children and grandchildren who have helped us make and pack lunches. We certainly couldn’t have made 1500 lunches so far without your help. And thank you to our 2 anonymous donors who year after year continue to support this very worthy project.

This month, in addition to making lunches, we will be assembling Hygiene bags for the tenth annual Give A Kid A Chance. It’s dedication from our co-chairs Lynn Weimer and Caroline Zipkin that will make for another successful BSSL project. Please join us on July 16th at the Terrace as we pack the bags from 3-5PM. Our members will be distributing bags at the First Baptist Church in Canton on July 18th beginning at 9AM. If you are interested in helping to assemble the bags please contact Ruth Clark.

The next scheduled meeting of the BSSL will be on August 20th at the Terrace at 7PM.

Wow the summer is here already.  Hope you are enjoying the sun, the great outdoors and the pool. Bridge Mill Sixes Service League is also on vacation for June and July, sort of.  We won’t be having any regularly scheduled meetings during the summer, but we are still very busy. We will be meeting every other Wednesday night and the following Thursday making lunches for children in Cherokee County who otherwise receive free lunch at school. We will be preparing 2500 lunches this summer.  Please contact Susan Gaines, if you would like to help.

 

Did you attend the Classic Car Show?   This new annual fundraiser made for a wonderful day at the Terrace Parking Lot.  So many thanks go out to Jay and Marlyn Patouillet, Pam Yagoda and their team.

 

Did you know that the BSSL offers scholarships to Cherokee County Graduating Seniors?  We gave $1500.00 Scholarships this year to two deserving High School Seniors. Lauren Griffin has devoted many hours to volunteering at Bethany’s Equine and Aquatic Therapy, the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, the ALS Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, MUST Ministries and Habitat for Humanity. Lauren will be attending the University of Georgia with a Major in Biomedical Engineering.

 

Victoria (Tori) Anderson has also devoted many hours to volunteering at her church and school.  She has sung in the Church choir and played the hand bells for the past 4 years, taught Vacation Bible School, assisted in the Church nursery and has been a soccer coach for Pre-K children for the past 2 years.  Tori has been awarded the very prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award for her assistance in building a playground and refurbishing the school house at her sister church in Nicaragua.  Tori will be attending Kennesaw State and majoring in Biology Education. Good luck to both young ladies.

 

Were you at Chico’s on May 6^th when The Bridge Mill Sixes Service League modeled Chico’s fashions?  We were able to collect 10% of all sales between 4 and 8 at Chico’s on the 6^th as we partnered with them.  Thank you to Judy West and thank you Chico’s.

 

Did you attend the Relay for Life at Creekview HS in Canton on May 8^th? We did and we helped the American Cancer Society in Cherokee County raise funds for rides to and from patients’ treatments, support for breast cancer patients, 24/7 support to patients and their caregivers, some patients and their caregivers were able to stay at the Hope Lodge while going through treatment, other patients received free wigs and we helped to support research grants.  A great big thank you to Nicole Shippy and Barbara Germano for co-chairing our Relay team. Perhaps you attended the Cherokee Lanes on May 30^th to support Strike Out Cancer?  We raised additional funds there.

As Spring approaches so does our first fundraiser of the year, our annual Spring Fling.  This women’s luncheon and fashion show is scheduled for March 28, 2015 at the historic Rock Barn in Canton on Marietta Hwy from 12-2 PM., next to Canton Elementary School with catering by Event Wise. Our co-chairs Denisha Austin and Julie Purcell and their committee are busy finalizing retailers, models, and raffle donations. Please contact the BSSL if you are interested in donating.  Find out what prominent community member will be at our event. Please see any BSSL member for a ticket or go to the Spring Fling fundraiser page to order your ticket on line.  Tickets sell out quickly as we are limited to 100, so don’t wait to the last minute to purchase yours.  Bring your mother, your sister, your daughter and your friends for this year’s Spring Fling.

Applications for the Lexine Harper Memorial Scholarship are now being accepted.  This scholarship is based on service to the community and is available to graduating  Cherokee County High School Seniors.  Please visit our scholarship page to download an application then mail your completed application to BSSL, 3760 Sixes Road, Suite 126, Box 185, Canton, Ga. 30114. Deadline for completed applications is April 1, 2015.

Membership to the Bridge Mill Sixes Service League is open to all women who live on Sixes road or on Bells Ferry near the Bridge Mill area. We are always looking to make new friends. Past members have moved from the area as far as Buck Head and they still return to see what’s new with BSSL.  Have you just moved into the area?  Are you looking for some female friends to socialize with?  We not only raise money for Charities in Cherokee County, we also go on day excursions, try out new restaurants, support each other when times are difficult or celebrate when times are wonderful, perhaps you would like to join a BUNCO group or a book club.  We do it all.  Check us out on Facebook, call Ruth Clark at 678-493-8943 or send an email to RuthJClark1953@comcast.net for more information or just show up at our next meeting on March 19^th at the Terrace across from the Athletic Center near the pool at 7PM.