The FFA motto all FFA members learn includes the words,” Living to Serve”, making service a core value taught to SD’s over 6,000 high school Agriculture Education students through their FFA participation.
With state educational budgets becoming tighter all the time, FFA chapters are forced to choose in which worthwhile activities they can still participate. Sometimes that means service projects do not happen. The SD FFA Foundation recognizes the value of local chapter service-learning projects, and wants to enable Agriculture Education programs to focus on student and community development. As a result, the SD FFA Foundation provides up to $500/chapter for service projects in their local communities.
SD FFA Executive Director, Gerri Ann Eide says, “We want to grow community leaders for tomorrow by encouraging FFA members to take an active role in the betterment of their communities, and find pride in the communities at the same time. These are valuable educational activities that impact agriculture education students for a lifetime.”
Congratulations to the following chapters receiving SD FFA Foundation funds this fall for their service projects:
Kadoka – build metal framed, wood topped picnic tables to use for the school lunch program and the baseball/softball complex
Kimball – provide and deliver a Feeding Our Local Farmers appreciation meal to area producers
Philip – building wooden picnic areas for the community
Baltic – Restoring and repairing their community garden storage shed and planting beds
Brookings – constructing and delivering beds and blankets to kids in need
Deubrook – implementing a mentor program with elementary, addressing leadership and life skills including healthy lifestyles, developing good habits, and environmental responsibility.
Doland – installing landscaping around our new school’s front entrance
Ethan – building raised garden beds for K-5 classrooms to teach gardening and being sustainability
Harrisburg – supporting the local community by sponsoring a holiday Angel Tree
Hitchcock-Tulare –repairing and painting swings, tables, shelters and playground equipment to revitalize the city park
Lemmon – beefing up the elementary with new agriculture reading books and activities
Webster/Waubay – building an announcer stand for the Day County Fairgrounds
Yankton – purchasing and planting a variety of tree species to replace Ash trees at the city golf course.
These grants were made possible, as a special project of the SD FFA Foundation, thanks to funds provided by Wilbur Ellis Company, Inc sponsoring the Webster/Waubay and Hitchcock/Tulare grants and TransCanada. For more information about the South Dakota FFA Foundation and South Dakota’s FFA programs, visit www.sdffafoundation.org.
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