MORE THAN 100 Auburn Clubs and affiliate groups work hard to fill needs in their respective communities across the country through community service projects that spread the Auburn spirit from coast to coast.
Several years ago, the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club found a need at Children’s of Alabama. Each year in November, club members gather wagons from the parking lot and hallways of the hospital, thoroughly clean and sanitize every inch of every wagon, then return them to a central area for families to use when coming and going from the hospital.
Sheree York, past president of the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club, said they have so much interest in this project that they have to limit the number of volunteers due to space restrictions.
“We have been doing this for several years and it’s very popular with our club members,” York said. “We love that we are meeting a specific need for the hospital, the children and their families and that so many of our members love participating.”
Detailed cleaning instructions are provided so that every wagon is sanitized properly to keep the children free from as many germs as possible. Once the wagons are cleaned, they are labeled “Cleaned and Ready to Roll” and returned to pick up locations.
“It is like a scavenger hunt finding all the wagons and gathering them together in one location,” York said. “The cleaning process is tedious, but we have such a good time working on it together.”
Families can grab wagons at many locations throughout the hospital campus to give the patient and even siblings a fun ride through the halls of the hospital, making it easier to transport both the children and all their belongings back and forth to the car.
“We are grateful for the continued relationship with the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club and we always look forward to having them on campus to help us,” Scarborough said.