Doris Spillers Worrell, the daughter of Beth and Wilbur Spillers, grew up in Fort Valley, Georgia. She had a strong Christian faith which was evident to all who knew her.  Doris was blessed with an artistic ability and enjoyed painting with watercolors and drawing in pen and ink.  She also enjoyed being around small children. She often combined her love for both young children and art by volunteering countless hours at her church, school, and othervenues to create art projects or teach art lessons to children.

            After graduating from Westfield School in 1985, she earned an associate degree at Middle Georgia College and received a fine arts degree from the University of Georgia. She worked as an interior designer for a few years before returning to school to earn a degree in early childhood education from Mercer University. Doris married and moved to Douglas, Georgia, where she became the mother of three children.

            Doris’ life was tragically ended in September 2006, two days after her thirty-ninth birthday. From the beginning, some of her closest childhood friends wanted to come up with a way of keeping Doris' memory alive.

            In the spring of 2009, a group of ladies in Douglas, Georgia, came up with the idea of presenting Easter baskets to children at the local Hope Center, a place where Doris had volunteered her time and talents to teach art lessons to students after school. The plan was to deliver the baskets to the children just before Easter, but bad weather disrupted the plans.  The Easter baskets weren't delivered until a day or two after Easter, and when the baskets were delivered, the ladies learned that none of the children had received an Easter basket on Easter.

            When Doris' sister learned that none of the children at the Hope Center had received Easter baskets, she knew that was the perfect project to keep her sister's memory alive. Calling on the help of Doris' friends, Lisa Hays and Mary Jane Kinnas, and her cousin Deana McInvale, the small group of friends met over lunch and exchanged ideas via email on how to best carry out this project. It was decided that some sort of arts supply such as crayons, markers, paints, or Play-doh would be included in each basket because of Doris' love of art.

        As of Good Friday 2010, approximately 150 Easter baskets had been delivered to children in Houston, Peach, Pulaski, and Crawford counties. The baskets were made especially for children who might not ordinarily receive one or who might not know the true meaning of Easter.

       In 2011, the project expanded, and approximately 500 baskets were made and distributed to children in Perry, Hawkinsville, Eastman, Vienna, Macon, Fort Valley, and Roberta.

          It is the hope of all who have been involved with the DSW Baskets of Joy project this year that the project will continue to grow and spread throughout the South.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,
for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

To be a part of this project next Easter, please contact  lstuggle@peacockpages.com 

To read more information about Doris Spillers Worrell click here.