A 'Spooky' reward

Evelyn Browne believes that Big Changes Start Small - also the name of the charitable organization she founded in Columbia County and has headed since 1995.

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For the most part Big Changes has been low-profile, drawing some public attention only at Halloween time with "It's Spooky to be Hungry" food drive.

But that was enough to grab the attention of USA Weekend magazine's Make a Difference Day Project. The Sunday publication has named the food drive one of its Top 10 honorees, awarding it $10,000. You can read more about it in the April 18 edition, carried by this newspaper.

Browne is delighted at both the financial windfall and the extra recognition. It may even save her organization. "This is incredibly wonderful for us, because we are such a bare-bones operation," she said. "We're no longer able to continue without making a little investment in our infrastructure."

She says the $10,000 will most likely be invested in a Web-based management system.

Golden Harvest food bank and its beneficiaries should also be pleased at the food drive's good fortune. Last year, 1,600 "It's Spooky" volunteers raised $32,000 and donated 62,000 pounds of food, all given to Golden Harvest.

We join USA Weekend in congratulating Evelyn Browne and her volunteers' good works. They've earned the honor.

--From the Saturday, February 21, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle