Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
Three years ago, Sonical Murphy-Mitchell was faced with a bit of a dilemma. What could she give to graduating baseball players from Madison County High School (MCHS)? Sure, she could give the standard gift cards or even cash, but she wanted something unique and different. She decided to fill a laundry basket with some of the items that any college student would be sure to need, whether they knew it at the time or not. That first group of laundry baskets was such a hit that she decided to expand the next year and she gave laundry baskets to graduating softball and football players.
Since then, Mitchell has been reaching out to other students heading off to college for the first time, not only for local students, but students in Lake City as well, where Mitchell works for the Florida Department of Corrections. "As a parent with a college student, I know how hard it is," said Mitchell. "My goal was to help out at least the [first] month with all the necessities that they would need."
Mitchell fills her laundry baskets with detergent, deodorant, dish detergent, fabric sheets, air fresheners, toothpaste, a toothbrush, hand soap and much more. Perhaps the best ingredient Mitchell loads into her baskets is much more than a month's worth of love. "This has become such a joy for me, and I'm still making baskets," adds Mitchell. "I only pray it gets bigger."