Fulda FCCLA members have been busy helping with service projects all over Fulda and the surrounding area. Members started their program of work early in the year by putting on the Veterans’ Day Program and helping to serve at the Craft Bazaar, and continued right through the holidays and into the new year as they work to give back to Fulda. This week we will highlight the work of three of our particular groups.
Chrissy Hermeling and Emily Madison undertook the Holiday Food Box project this year. A major service project, Holiday Food Boxes involves many partners, area churches, the Fulda Lions Club, Maynard’s, the Fulda Food Shelf, and contributions from Fulda High School teachers and students. Chrissy and Emily wrote letters to First Presbyterian Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church, and Solid Rock Church, asking for the number of boxes those churches would like to give out to congregation members in need. A goal was set to fill 11 boxes full of potatoes, rice, fruit, vegetables, stuffing, dessert, and as many other fixings for a nice holiday meal as possible. The Fulda Lions Club donated $20 meat certificates from Maynard’s to cap off the meal boxes.
The students and staff at FHS answered the call for raising food by going above and beyond. They filled to the brim 30 food boxes, distributed to the different churches with the rest going to the food shelf as ready-made boxes for any family to take. Mr. Bambrick and Mrs. Voss’ Raider Time group won the inaugural competition to fill the most food boxes. The work of all involved enabled many Fulda area families to celebrate a great Christmas.
Two other groups worked with Fulda Elementary students on improving their physical fitness levels. Claire Reith and Taryn Evers worked with Grades K-6 as a part of Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart, and Zach Thier and Logan Erdmann did the same with Dodgeball for Heart. After doing some research, the groups found that almost 80% of children do not get enough exercise on a daily basis. These groups sought to remedy that by teaching students some fun ways to exercise every day. Importantly, these are activities that can be done by people of all ages, so these children gained valuable lessons in lifetime fun.
Claire and Taryn taught lessons of jumping rope to Fulda’s youngest students. They were tested on how long they could jump rope without making a mistake, and shown different techniques to challenge their jumping abilities. With older elementary students, Claire and Taryn taught them the fundamentals of basketball like dribbling and shooting, put them through skills challenges, and taught them games they could play with their friends. Zach and Logan taught the fundamentals of the game of dodgeball, like throwing and catching, and played games with the classes. Skills were improved, hearts were pumping, and there were smiles to go all around. FCCLA members helping students achieve being “A Fit You” will lead to better health for years to come.
Kamryn Chapman and Kelli Renneke have been visiting Mrs. Erdmann’s Kindergarten classroom as classroom helpers for several weeks during their release time hours. The title of their project is Focus on Children. The team’s main focus was helping students with reading in small groups. The goal is to help improve literacy and enable more students to receive 1 on 1 attention.
In addition to reading, Chapman and Renneke also helped with math, grammar, and anything else Mrs. Erdmann and her classes were working on.
Brandon Clausen and Jaxson Tiesler’s project was a state-wide Families First project entitled Super BOWL. The goal was to gather cereal and macaroni and cheese for the Fulda Food Shelf. The team had great success, as they were able to donate 86 boxes of cereal and 46 boxes of macaroni and cheese.
