SOTA Club DonationPanola College’s Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) Club donated $20,501.15 to the City of Carthage. The funds will be put toward College View Park, the all-inclusive park to be built on Bird Drive.

“The members of the SOTA Club are thrilled to join with other community organizations to bring this amazing park to Carthage,” said Terrie King, the chair of the OTA program.

The SOTA Club raised the donated funds through sponsorships and an opportunity to win a Yeti cooler along with a variety of other prizes, which totaled over $1,000.

“We want to thank all the folks that supported our fundraising effort,” continued King. “Thank you to all of our sponsors, those who donated the items and the many folks that purchased drawing tickets. This would not have been possible without you.”

The OTA program was involved in the conception of the park, helping to do research about design and eventually presenting the idea to the city. King said that once the park has been built, one of her goals is to offer community health and wellness programs at the park as a way for her students to “learn through doing.”

“The all-abilities, all-ages park project is important to the SOTA Club, as well as the OTA program, because the goal of our profession is to help people do what they want and need to do,” said Abbie Suggs, the president of the SOTA Club. “We are looking forward to this park not only engaging our community in outdoor activities, but also for our OTA program to use as an extension of our classroom.