Recently, ten members of the Line Creek Civitan Club (LCCC), based in Peachtree City, had the privilege of traveling to Birmingham, Ala. to visit the world-renowned Civitan International Research Center and the Civitan-Sparks Clinic, located at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The LCCC members were fortunate to tour the research center and the clinic, where the staff takes what they have learned in the research center and uses it to treat children, and adults in their adjacent clinic, who suffer from developmental disabilities. The center and the clinic were established in 1967 to provide essential clinical and community services for individuals born with these disabilities and their families.

This visit helped the LCCC members get a first hand view of how their actions on the local level are making a real difference in the lives of developmentally challenged individuals.

The work at the Civitan International Research Center and Sparks Clinic is not only relieving many of the difficulties in the daily lives of those affected individuals, but also giving hope that these developmental challenges can be overcome - or at least lessened - in the future, for these individuals and those who come after them. This research and its application will be of endless benefit to those affected individuals and their families.

This is the true mission of Civitan. To such end, the Line Creek Civitan Club is proud and honored to announce that through its local Civitan candy box collections, fruitcake and pecan sales programs and as a direct result of its 2005 Great Chili Challenge event and other fund raising initiatives, it has been able to donate over $15,000 to the Civitan International Research Center and Sparks Clinic for the year of 2006. This significant contribution was made possible through the hard work of their LCCC members, local supporters and the generosity of the residents of Peachtree City, and surrounding communities. It also included matching contributions from the Chesapeake District of Civitan International.

Civitan Clubs throughout the world fund close to a $1,000,000 a year to the Civitan International Research Center. The LCCC is honored and humbled to take its place as a dedicated and growing participant in helping to bring the hopes and dreams of these developmentally challenged individuals to fruition. The club looks forward to the day when there will be no child born with developmental problems.

There are 46 Civitan clubs located in the Georgia, two of which are located in Fayette County. If you have a sincere interest in assisting developmentally challenged children and adults, we invite your participation in one or both of the local Fayette County Civitan clubs. For more information email Mary Skene, Line Creek Civitans president at maryskene@skenelaw.com, David Talbert Fayetteville Civitans president at hdtatfay@bellsouth.net, visit www.georgiacivitan.org or www.civitan.org or call 1-800-CIVITAN.

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