BROOKINGS, S.D. — “Living to serve” is a portion of the FFA motto that members were living out during the South Dakota State FFA Convention in Brookings, April 3-5.
Along with doing their annual meal packaging community service project for Meals of Hope, they added a new project to their lineup this year: making handmade potholders for Meals on Wheels. These potholders will be given to volunteers to help with distributing hot meals, as well as given to the recipients of the meals.
This was a project that students participated in at the National FFA Convention last October, so they decided to bring it to the state level.
“We just thought it’s a great way for students to help give back to South Dakota and their community,” said Jennifer Williams, program specialist for National FFA. “It’s a great way to spend some time at their state convention, just kind of relax, because it’s just sitting there, keeping their hands busy and getting to know the other people around them while they serve.”
The goal was to complete 280 potholders during convention. Students wove the potholders on small looms, which was time consuming.
“It’s fun. It’s a little stressful when you find you went one wrong through the loop, but you know, it’s all good,” said Espn Althoff, senior from Tri-Valley FFA.
“They do take a little bit of time and there’s a little bit of a learning curve. We’ve got to go back to our like sixth grade arts and crafts roots,” Williams said.
Williams said these potholders leave a great impact on Meals on Wheels and the people who receive them.
“We have actually had the opportunity to talk to some of their volunteers, and when we tell them we work for National FFA, we work with FFA members, they go ‘Oh my gosh, you know, we use your potholders. They really helped brighten people’s days,'” Williams said. “I know some of our potholders have gone out to recipients for birthday presents because some of the recipients, they’re elderly, they don’t get out of the house much and so it’s just a way to brighten their day.”
Students were eager to get to working on this service project. The event wasn’t supposed to start until 10 a.m., and by 9:45, there were already tables of students working on their potholders. This project gave students something to do and keep their minds off of their competitions.
“There’s a lot going on, a lot of stress with competitions and other things and workshops. I think they’re enjoying just the relaxing, being able to sit down and spend some time just doing something productive,” Williams said. “Socializing is really important when you come to convention, but it’s kind of nice to get a little brain break.”
Students enjoy getting to serve alongside their fellow FFA members.
“It’s a fun time because, you know, we are all kind of a tight-knit family sort of. So, it’s like we all kind of just have fun with that,” Althoff said.
“I think it’s nice because you get to intermingle with one another and just have good conversations in the middle of these fun moments that we have in the community,” said Oakley Menzel, sophomore from Philip.
Giving back is an important part of the FFA organization and they hope this project leaves a positive impact on their community.
“FFA is a non-profit organization and so a lot of people give back to our organization. This is a way to show them how much we appreciate them and give back to our own communities and show them we’re active members in our community,” Williams said.