Tech students are organizing Comforts of Home to aid children removed from homes by the Putnam County Meth Task Force. Tech students Donathan Knowles, Jessie Stidham, Jodi Lawrence, Josh Girling, Ravi Patel and Whitney Tayes are using the motivation of their Group Dynamics class semester-goal assignment to make a difference in the Putnam County community. These students have formed Comforts of Home, a project that compiles bags of survival supplies for children that are removed from meth homes by the Department of Children’s Services.
“I have lived in Cookeville my entire life,” Tayes said. “Meth education is something we have been bombarded with over and over. I feel, and others in the community agree, that this is something that needs to be done. Our group saw this as an opportunity to really make a difference for the entire Putnam county area by branching out and doing something that has not been done. We hope to not only provide comfort to the children but develop a way for the community to continue to help years down the road with drop-off centers.”
The direct goal of the group is to compile survival bags containing only new items such as clothing, dental hygiene products, a stuffed animal, undergarments, and shoes. The bags will be for children removed from homes busted for meth. These items are essential to the children because when they are removed from their homes, they are stripped of everything and left with nothing but the hospital gown in which they receive their medical inspection.
After this goal is completed, the group says it hopes to set up a drop-off center, which will be kept up by the Meth Task Force, for people to come and donate items. These goals were made possible by donations from community businesses.
