Explorers & Service Learning

2001-2002

Clothes for the Rescue Mission
	In Davidson County (Central District), 22 4-H'ers in the Warner 4D 4-H Club sponsored a month-long clothing drive. Student government officers encouraged the entire school to participate through announcements over the intercom. They donated the clothes to the Rescue Mission. The 4-H'ers discussed how they helped out people less fortunate than they, and they can continue to help in the future.

Toys for Tots

Stevenson's 4th grade 4-H club at Greenbrier Elementary in Robertson County collected toys for the Toys for Tots program organized by the Greenbrier Fire Department. The young people enjoy the experience and felt good knowing that they had helped someone in need.

Relay for Life

Fourth grade 4-H'ers at East Robertson Elementary collected over $100 for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. The Community Service Leaders report, "Cancer has touched all of us in some way and the group decided that we wanted to give something that will one day help find a cure." They learned about helping others and to be concerned with one's fellow man. The project will make them more aware of individual needs around their community.

Pull Tab Program

197 4th and 5th grade 4-H'ers at Malesus in Madison County gathered tabs from pop cans. The project benefitted a 7th grader at a local middle school who has been diagnosed with leukemia. They learned to be sensitive and helpful to the sick.

Save the Rainforests

Mrs. Rust's 4th grade 4-H'ers at White House Elementary in Robertson County made posters about the rainforests and hung them up in school. Their goal was to help people understand why the rainforests are important. They learned to conserve trees.

Coat Drive

McDonald's 4th grade 4-H'ers at White House Elementary in Robertson County held a coat drive to collect winter coats for the needy. They learned that helping people is important and they will help others when they get older.

The Spam Jam

4th grade 4-H'ers from Krisle Elementary in Robertson County participated in "The Spam Jam." They collected Spam and other foods for the local food bank. They learned to help people as they can.

Pet Food for Freedom Farms

Ms. Pearson's 4th grade at Westside Elementary in Robertson County donated dog and cat food to Freedom Farm. They felt good that they were helping homeless and hurt animals. They plan to continue helping animals.

Arts and Crafts

4-H'ers in seven 4th grade classes at White House Elementary in Robertson County made Christmas crafts and delivered them with a Thanksgiving dinner. These 170 young people learned to be thoughtful and nice to others and to be grateful that they had families.

Angel Tree

Kennedy's 4th grade 4-H'ers at White House Elementary in Robertson County adopted two angels from the Salvation Army Angel Tree. They felt the experience helped them learn to be a better person.

Clothes Drive

At Coopertown Elementary in Robertson County, Ms. Wilson's 4th grade 4-H'ers participated in a school-wide coat drive.

Nursing Home Project

4th grade 4-H'ers from Mrs. Hooper's club at East Robertson Elementary in Robertson County made 120 heart treat boxes and donated 15 plant/bird feeders to a local nursing home. They also sang patriotic songs to the patients. They learned how to "give to those who need special help and care." They plan to continue to visit the nursing home to keep the residents from being lonely.

Program at the Nursing Home

Mrs. Byrum's 4th grade club at East Robertson Elementary visited the Byrum Porter Senior Center. They made ornaments and presented a program called "Christmas." The residents enjoyed the presentation and clapped along with the songs. The 4-H'ers and the seniors learned how to make ornaments.

Christmas Cards for Sailors and a Club Newspaper

At Sevierville Intermediate School in Sevier County, Mrs. Loveday's 4th grade received a donation of almost 750 Christmas cards. They distributed them to each child in the school. The children wrote a short message to a sailor aboard the USS La Salle, which is anchored off the coast of Afghanistan. The 4-H'ers discussed what the sailors might be experiencing and feeling in being away from home during the holidays, and they wanted to bring some happiness to the sailors.

The 4-H'ers also created, edited, and copied a class newspaper to be sold at school. The money was donated to the principal to purchase a bird feeder to be used near the front entrance of the school. The money from their February issue went to the animal shelter. They plan to continue to publish a monthly newspaper and donate the money to charitable causes.

Nursing Home Christmas Party

At Greenbrier Elementary, Mrs. Tharpe's 4-H'ers presented a musical Christmas program for residents of a Robertson County nursing home. Over 300 senior citizens enjoyed the performance very much.

This club also collected toys for needy children in the Greenbrier community. They learned it is better to give than to receive.

Money Chain

4th grade 4-Hers at Sevierville Intermediate School in Sevier County coordinated a project to raise money for the children of Afghanistan. This was a project President Bush encouraged all U.S. children to participate in. They sold links for a paper chain with a name on them for $1.00. They sold 300 links, raising $300 to be sent to the children of Afghanistan. They displayed the paper chain in the 4th grade hall to remind everyone to remember those children and their needs. The learned "a caring spirit."

Christmas Help

At Pigeon Forge Middle School in Sevier County, Mrs. Patterson's 4th grade 4-H'ers are conducting two projects to help others during the holiday season. They're helping the "Christmas for Teens" program by collecting hygiene items. They're also donating money to buy gifts for "Toys for Tots."

School Recycling Program

At Sevier County's Northview Elementary School, McBrayer's 4th grade 4-H'ers have planned a year-long service learning project. They created and supplied recycling bins for every classroom in the school. Every day they collect the cans. They also collect cans from the community. Once a month, they crush the cans and take them to the recycling center. They 4-H'ers are learning about "the importance of recycling and how it benefits notonly the environment but the school, our community, and themselves."

Litter Walk and Money for NYC Victims

At Pigeon Forge Middle School in Sevier County (Smoky Mountain District), Mrs. Patterson's 4th grade club has been very busy. They have conducted two service projects and are working on a third. They sponsored a litter walk designed to help clean up the environment, and they also donated money for the victims of the New York City tragedy. They are now planning to feed a needy family a Thanksgiving meal.

2000-2001

Money for the Homeless

Twenty-four members of Miss Morris' 4-H club at White House Elementary in Robertson County (Central District) collected money to send to the Nashville Mission. The money was used to buy food to feed the homeless at Thanksgiving. These 4-H'ers collected $38 and learned "to share what we have to help others." They also said, "This made us realize how important it is to help people who are homeless."

School Clean-up

Mrs. Pearson's 4-H club at Westside Elementary in Robertson County (Central District) wanted to help their entire school by cleaning up the school grounds. Sixteen 4-H Explorers worked hard so that the students at their school would "have a clean playground to play on." The 4-H'ers learned "to be better citizens by having a cleaner community and helping others. Our playground would be more polluted if we didn't clean up."

Nursing Home Visit

4-H Explorers in Mrs. Pendley's class at Jo Byrns School in Robertson County (Central District) chose to visit a nursing home for their service project this year. They went to Whitehaven Nursing Home in Adams and spent time with the residents there. The 4-H'ers learned that they "should be very nice to all people." They also report that they "really enjoyed talking and visiting and learning many things from the elderly."

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