‘Buckets of Love’ make residents’ day

Published 3:00 pm Sunday, May 15, 2022

For Milledgeville resident Barbara Pounds, a special delivery recently brightened her day. 

“It means a lot,” said Pounds, one of several residents of a Milledgeville apartment complex who received a Santa Claus-like visit on a recent sunny May afternoon.

What Pounds and her neighbors were anticipating all year was the delivery of Buckets of Love. The project began five years ago under the direction of Georgia College Early College teacher Chuck Claxton. His students order seeds and grow tomato and pepper plants in buckets with the goal of taking them to a nearby housing complex.

“I thank them from the bottom of my heart,” said Gail Parham, watching the delivery process from her front door like it was a parade. “I love flowers. I’m not able to grow them like I used to. I can water them and keep them going.

“I love to see this. It makes my heart real warm.”

Claxton said the Buckets of Love project had to be cancelled last year due to the pandemic, so bringing it back in 2022 was special as he is retiring from the Baldwin County School District. The seventh-graders grew around 45 buckets in all and brought the orders to the residents’ porches. He said the students are always excited about it, and it gives the residents something to enjoy all summer.

“It’s been going on for a few months now,” said student Maya Johnson. “We planted the seeds during the fall. We just moved them into buckets, and after the (plants) grew bigger (in the buckets), we are going to take them over there and let them finish it out.

“Mr. Claxton has been doing this for years with other classes. I hope this is something we will be able to do next year, even though he is going to retire.

“It just makes us feel good … spreading love. We have fun planting the vegetables, and they are going to have fun eating it.”

Kinslee Bonner, in the middle of the deliveries, expressed how happy she was seeing the recipients’ reactions. She said it starts from something small, the seed, and helps the community. She, too, hopes classes beyond will carry on the tradition.