Plenty of Love To Go Around

January 23, 2025 Print This Post

Moore does best to fill needs as the county’s Family Connection coordinator

By Dakota Meeks
The Oglethorpe Echo

April Moore has learned to become creative with Oglethorpe County Family Connection.

About a month ago, she started to lead an early literacy program in the school system to encourage the educational growth of kindergartners.

That effort joined with an initiative that Moore, coordinator for Family Connection in Oglethorpe County, launched earlier in 2024 called “Smart Sacks,” a sling bag that was gifted to upcoming kindergartners. Each bag contained a Vtech Write and Learn, a tablet for writing, along with a pencil, a water bottle and a book named, “Twas the Night Before Kindergarten.” The upcoming kindergartners received them in April at Kindergarten Roundup at Oglethorpe County Primary School.

“They were able to take home all these tools and work with them over the spring and summer to be better prepared for kindergarten,” Moore said.

These and other efforts show how Moore, who is from Sandy Cross, has strived to do more for Oglethorpe County, which she calls a “small, but mighty” community that is family focused.

“It builds you as a person,” she said. Before her role at Family Connection, she worked at different organizations around the county, including the Farm Bureau and the school system.

Samai Argueta, a member of The Light of The World Church and volunteer for Family Connection, said it takes skill to do what Moore does.

“I think she does it with a lot of love, and I think she is someone that truly cares about helping those in our community who need it,” he said.

Argueta said Moore has a positive attitude that is contagious, which helps the team when it faces obstacles.

“It makes us positive too, like we can do whatever obstacle we’re facing. We can overcome it,” Argueta said.

Being a mother to two kids who were a part of the school system when they were younger helped Moore to get involved with the Parent Teacher Organization. Her children are now 19 and 18 years old.

“You get involved, you get to know individuals personally and their situations and the children, and you just want to do more,” Moore said.

Through the PTO, Moore helped with fundraising and special events as a way to give back to the community. She eventually became president of the organization.

Even though she worked full-time and a couple part-time jobs, she decided to go back to school to earn her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Liberty University.

“I felt really old and really tired, but I was like, ‘I have to do more,’” Moore said.

As coordinator, Moore gets to know people of all ages, from kids to seniors, and learn their needs and personal situations. She helps lead outreach programs, such as Meals on Wheels for senior adults, every week.

“It’s just a very, very kind and loving environment that has been created,” Argueta said.

Family Connection partners with many different organizations, which help with the goals it’s trying to achieve.

“We have so many of us that help in the community,” Moore said. Moore tries her best to connect with those who need help and when she can’t, she tries to be there for them.

“This work allows you to know your community better, and it makes you love your community more,” she said.

Read the story from The Oglethorpe Echo.