Hillsboro FFA provides fourth grades with school supplies, book bags

By Meredith Oglesby
Secretary of the Hillsboro FFA

The Hillsboro FFA received a grant from ARCOP (Agricultural and Rural Community Outreach Program) for $2,500.

The idea came from a few members to provide a book bag filled with all the necessary school supplies to each incoming fourth- grade student in Hillsboro City Schools. The book bags were distributed to the fourth-graders on Aug. 7 at the annual open house.

Part of the FFA's motto is "living to serve," so this was one way the Hillsboro FFA could live to serve in their community.

School supply shopping can be stressful for some families so providing a book bag and supplies was one way to help. The Hillsboro FFA applied for the grant in February of 2014.

In May of 2014, Hillsboro FFA was notified that they had received the grant. Once the budget was written, a few of the members went to the local Walmart and purchased all the needed school supplies and six different patterned book bags.

Once the $2,500 had been spent, the chapter asked local businesses to provide money. On Aug. 5, members of the chapter met in the Ag rooms and packed the book bags with the necessary school supplies along with a farm animal pencil book mark and sticker to promote agriculture.

Then, on Thursday, Aug. 7, the book bags were distributed to each fourth-grader.

One member said “The excitement of each fourth-grader when they realized what they had received is something I will never forget. One fourth-grader told his friend about how happy he was along with a different student saying his favorite part of his book bag was that he got to pick it out himself. The students were so happy and this made me realize how much this project had made a difference.”