By John A. Winters, Publisher
That massive collective sigh you heard recently came from thousands of Coweta County students moments after walking out of school for the last time – at least for a couple of months.
We can also attribute that sound to hundreds of teachers, administrators and support staff, and a pretty big collection of parents. No more “rock, paper, scissors” as to who will get up to take the snowflakes to school. Or at least go down the hall to wake said precious ones up because the five alarms you set for them somehow did nothing to awaken the Kraken.
And for those who have discovered the source of the Nile, aka, how to train your kids to actually wake up on time, pour their own cereal and make it to the bus stop without awakening anyone, well, I salute you.
Yet times moves on. The question of “have you finished your homework” is replaced with “why don’t you have a job?” The second question you will ask, and this if your kids haven’t hit the job market yet is, “how can anyone sleep this long?” And the third is simply a statement, “no, playing video games is not a job and you can become a video programmer after you mow the lawn.”

Speaking of jobs, if your kids are fortunate to have one, you get the opportunity to explain to them “life.” By this I mean Mr. FICA.
“Who is this FICA guy and why is he taking all my money,” the Eldest asked after getting his first paycheck. “And why is the state of Georgia and the federal government taking my money. I’m not even legally an adult.”
“Why?” he asks. Yeah, why is water wet and fire hot.
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And now for something completely different.
There is a saying about how you can tell a lot about a community by how it treats those who can’t help themselves.
I think Coweta does an incredible job with the numerous nonprofits here.
The Coweta Community Foundation helps nonprofits not only survive, but thrive. The foundation serves as an umbrella 501-c3, gives out thousands of dollars in grants each year, and holds training sessions for nonprofits on a multitude of issues.
Each year, the Newnan Kiwanis Club holds the Newnan Coweta Fair. This past year the civic club doled out more than $200,000 to local nonprofits, many who would not be able to keep their doors open without that financial help.
For many nonprofits, getting their message out – what they do, what they need, how you can help – is one of the hardest things they face. Any money they get is poured right back into the agency. They rarely have funds to tell their story.
We can help in that area through our new Give BIG campaign.
It’s pretty simple. Individuals, businesses and organizations can “adopt” a nonprofit and donate a paid ad for them to use as they want in The Paper. In turn, the donor gets an acknowledgement for their donation.
Already, Abby’s Angels Foundation, Backpack Buddies and the ChildrenConnect Museum have benefited from this campaign from the generosity of others.
Do you have a favorite charity? Do you know a nonprofit that could use some publicity? Give us a call about helping them out.
Until next time.