College students, professors contribute to effort

PORTSMOUTH — A program that Lawrence-Scioto Solid Waste Management District Director Dan Palmer started in Scioto County in 2016 that provides for children affected by drug-addicted parents received a large donation last month from students and professors from The Ohio State University and the University of North Carolina.

Operation GRACE, which stands for Giving Relief to Area Children for Enrichment, provides clothes, hygiene products, gifts, and in some cases, a place for children to wash their clothes and shower at the schools if they do not have the necessities at home.

Through the efforts of Palmer, staff from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office and Scioto County Juvenile Drug Court Judge Alan Lemons, a list of needed items was sent to Dr. Bill Miller, Professor of Epidemiology at The Ohio State University College of Public Health, who then received a grant to help purchase items. OSU students and staff also collected items for the cause.

More than 75 bags of clothing, toys, socks, coats, hats, gloves and more were collected and brought to the Scioto County Courthouse last month by Miller and some of his students. Vivian Go, a professor at the University of North Carolina, also assisted Miller with the grant, and attended with two of her students as well.

“This is a great thing that they did for Operation GRACE, and we can’t thank them enough for their generosity,” Palmer said.