The Happy Pot has become known in the region as a one-stop shop for creativity and art, acceptance and teaching, and community service. Owner Cinamon Wellington has made it her mission to foster an environment welcome to all and has created a massive network for education for those in need of a little love—from those in the substance abuse community, individuals with developmental disabilities, and people facing other hardships. This is when she isn’t open during regular hours for business.

For four years, the Happy Pot has worked with The Counseling Center to schedule a November community service project, which has gotten bigger and better each year.

“To be honest, I think I realized that drugs are never going away and that you can either ignore the problem and pretend it doesn’t exist…or be part of the solution,” Wellington said. “I believe, in order for people to heal and get back to their lives, that they need to be part of the community. I also believe our community has a lot of those in need, so we can help each other.”

Wellington teaches about service to others, asking for forgiveness, and being part of a community in her classes. The topic of giving back is frequently brought up.

“We talk about the feeling of giving back all of the time,” Wellington explained. “You know, at some point in everybody’s life you hit a rock bottom and you feel like you have nothing or nobody. It is important to give back and remind people they’re not alone, despite some of the poor choices they’ve made in the past. These projects help people heal.”

Wellington’s project is called Giveback November and the students in her recovery painting classes are involved in picking a project to give back.

“This is about giving back to the community that didn’t give up on them,” Wellington said. “This year, as a group, we decided to feed a warm meal to those in need. We fed them warm chili and peanut butter sandwiches and a bottle of water. We also raised clothing—hats, socks, coats, scarves, mittens, handwarmers—to give away as well. Everything was free for people to take with them after they enjoyed their warm meal.”

Wellington said they served 300 meals and gave away over 10 large boxes of clothing.

“I’ve said for years that I am a proud member of this community and always want to be part of the solution and not the problem. We have a wonderful community. When we have a need, people rally and help each other out. We want to treat others how we want to be treated, not just this time of the year, but all year long,” Wellington said. “I thank the community for all the wonderful donations. People will be warmer because of this and, for a day, had a meal and knew they weren’t forgotten.”

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.