Brandon Wilde residents plan to get M.A.D. and use their timeless skills and talents to give back to local charities.   The community is taking a different approach to celebrating Wellness Month in February. In addition to a focus on personal fitness, the seniors want to Make A Difference in their lives and the lives of the Brandon Wilde and CSRA Communities.  Volunteers have identified over half a dozen local service projects which will allow them to personally make a difference in the deserving lives of many.
 
Ronald McDonald House:  Woodworkers, seamstresses, and interior designers are building a dollhouse complete with furniture, stuffed pillows, bed linens, rugs, and wallpaper. The specially handcrafted home will be donated to Safe Homes which provides temporary housing for victims of domestic abuse.
 
Golden Harvest Soup Kitchen:  Residents will donate and assemble 650 sack lunches for the Golden Harvest Food Bank’s “Sacks of Love” initiative which will provide two days of wholesome meals for those in need.
 
Veterans Home Project: The Brandon Wilde Southern Made Knitting guild will knit squares which will be assembled into blankets and gather magazines and books to be donated to deserving war veterans.
 
Operation Gratitude:  Residents will personalize greeting cards which will be sent to “A Million Thanks”, a service organization which distributes thank you notes to our dedicated servicemen abroad.
 
Goodwill:  Volunteers will sort and organize the massive amounts of jewelry donated annually to Goodwill, most of which never makes it to the showroom floor because of this tedious and time consuming process.
 
Kitty Konnection:    Even area animals will benefit from the Brandon Wilde’s M.A.D. campaign as craftsmen will build cat scratching boards made of rope and carpet to be donated to Kitty Konnection which will give one away with each pet adoption in February.
 
In addition, to reaching out, residents will reach in as they participate in creative writing classes to document their life stories, physical assessments, and balance,  nutrition and yoga classes.  The month-long celebration ends with a Making A Difference Retreat featuring a motivational lecture series which is designed to keep the M.A.D. campaign momentum going strong in 2016.