Local 4-H'ers help out Red Cross

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

One by one, members of the Jefferson Township 4-H Club lined up like workers on an assembly line, taking turns stuffing Red Cross bags.

Nine-year-old Taylor Hicks, among the 14 kids Monday evening, took pride in placing necessities in the bags, such as soap, tooth paste and combs.

"It's kind of nice to know that we're helping someone out," Hicks said.

Fourteen members of the 4-H club spent one half-hour at Central Elementary Monday stuffing Red Cross comfort kits as part of their community service project.

"We're supposed to do a service project every year," 4-H leader Debbie Hacker said. "We tried to do it last year, but we just never got it together."

The comfort kits include necessary items for victims of house fires. They include wash cloths, soap, tooth paste, a tooth brush, a comb and shampoo.

Hacker also volunteers for the Putnam County American Red Cross Chapter. She said having the kids in her group help out with the project will help them in the future.

"I think a lot of them don't know about the Red Cross," she said.

The items the children used to fill up the kits were donated by the Putnam County Extension Homemakers.

"This was a district project for Extension Homemakers," said representative Bonnie Bryan. "Nine counties in our district contributed."

Local Red Cross Chapter representative Ginger Scott said the donations opened up the chapter to provide other services to local residents, saying the local chapter would have had to use its available funds for the comfort kits.

"We feel extremely lucky," Scott said. "We had less than 10 kits and they were old."

Scott added she was pleased to see children getting involved in the project.

"I think it's great," she said. "It gives the kids a chance to help others."

Hacker said she thought helping out the local Red Cross Chapter was something all her 4-H members could be involved in.

"It's really hard to come up with something that a variety of kids can do," she said. "We thought this would also help the community."

Hacker added the local chapter was in need of the kits.

"It's been a while since we"ve had any," she said. "And I think the kids enjoyed this."

Hacker said the comfort kits could be delivered to the local chapter as early as today.

Those involved in the project included Lane Hacker, Meghan Baugh, Grace Carr, Hannah Wytten-bach, Andrew Hansel, Ryan Chestnut, Trevor Ladd, Tyler Vandermark, Grahm Carr, Taylor Hicks, Katie Hacker, Lindsay Hacker, Shelby Hacker and Alyssa Arnold.

Dana Carr is also a co-leader of the 4-H club.

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