FFA members lend a helping hand during National Volunteer Month

April is National Volunteer Month. If you didn’t know that before reading this, you’re not alone. I didn’t know there was a whole month dedicated to recognizing volunteers until just this year.

As a high school FFA member, my favorite events were projects that my FFA chapter worked on to benefit our community.  As a state officer, I’ve been able to see many more FFA members develop a passion for serving others, just like I did. Below are some amazing service projects that were organized by FFA chapters recently.

DeForest FFA recently held their DeFo Fights Hunger meal packaging event. 28,000 meals were packaged by the FFA members, with some staying in their community and the rest being shipped to other countries.

Oconto Falls FFA is in the midst of planning their upcoming habitat restoration project through a Sand County Fund.

Quite a few chapters across the state will be hosting an Easter egg hunt for their communities, where kids and their families can come find eggs and prizes. Check in your community to see if there is one!

Verona FFA is planning a reverse food drive. They’ll drop off empty bags with a page describing their goal of collecting non-perishable food items for the local food pantries. A week later, they collect the bags, hopefully filled with food. Verona FFA’s plan is to drop bags off at a few hundred houses and collect 1,000 pounds of food total.

Auburndale and Stratford FFA chapters have teamed up to collect supplies that were sent to Nebraska following the severe flooding they’ve experienced this spring. In late May, Auburndale will be headed down to Nebraska to volunteer with the restoration process.

These are just a few examples of how FFA chapters are volunteering and completing service projects that positively affect their communities. When you support the local FFA, you’re also supporting the next generation of leaders, citizens, and the community as a whole.

Thank you for your support of FFA. We hope you’ve been able to see the impact of FFA in your home town and look forward to continuing to give back year round.

April may be National Volunteer Month, but for FFA members, every month is the perfect time to give back to the community. No matter the time of year, FFA chapters will be busy planning activities to grow leaders, build communities, and strengthen agriculture – we are living to serve.

Hayden is President of the Wisconsin State FFA Officer Team