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In the News -
December 2007
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| Mary Baskin and her dog pose for a holiday picture at the Ferndale EHC Breakfast with Santa, held Dec. 8, as a fund-raiser for the extension homemakers club's community outreach. |
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| The Ferndale EHC hosted neighborhood families for a breakfast with Santa. Santa posed for pictures with children and pets from the community, while the families enjoyed home-baked breakfast goodies. The event was a fund-raiser for the club's community outreach. |
LITTLE ROCK - The holidays are the time for giving, and the 6,000 members of the Extension Homemakers Clubs across Arkansas -- one of the state's largest volunteer organizations, are sharing in the celebration of the season with others.
Extension Homemakers Clubs, or EHC, are county organizations through which adult education is made available through the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
The knitted caps for babies at Arkansas Children's Hospital and quilts for senior citizens, are just a few of the ways, EHC members are helping their neighbors, says Betty Oliver, AEHC's Volunteer Coordinator.
"Members are just so giving of their time, and a lot of them are putting quite a bit of money into these projects," Oliver says.
Each of the clubs across the state has its own holiday project to tackle each year. Some members start working as early as spring to make sure that items are ready to go when the holidays roll around.
Many members participate in "Knitting for Noggins," where members create crocheted and knitted caps for babies and young children at Arkansas Children's Hospital. One of the Poinsett County groups also knits caps for the NEA Cancer Group.
Boone County's EHC club decorates the trees in the county's Old Courthouse and federal building. Its members also coordinate a food drive - where canned and boxed goods are placed under the Christmas tree in those buildings. The food gifts are distributed to women's shelters, Share-And-Care and the local food bank.
Stockings are a popular project for many of the EHC clubs. A Poinsett County club creates stockings for DHHS foster children, full of treats and toys. Van Buren County clubs make Christmas stockings for the children at Arkansas Children's Hospital. Searcy's EHC group fills about 150 stockings each year for ACH patients.
One of the Lincoln County groups works with Head Start children. Members fill stockings with educational activities and candy for each child. Another group in Lincoln County creates large felt Christmas stockings. These are used to "gift wrap" babies born at Jefferson Regional Medical Center each December.
In Mountain Home, ECH works to provide groceries and gifts to those at Gamma House, a local women's shelter. Newton County ECH members make quilts for each and every bed at the Newton County Nursing Home in Jasper. In Pope County, EHC members decorate doors in area nursing homes and provide residents with small gifts like socks and lotion. And Jackson County groups adopt residents at senior centers. They also participate in the Crazy Coffee Mug Game to raise funds for essential items needed at area nursing homes.
Ferndale's EHC holds a Breakfast with Santa, where kids can come be photographed with Santa and share breakfast goodies. This year's event will be held December 8 at the Ferndale Clubhouse.
In Searcy County, one EHC group creates special gift baskets for families in the Oxley community. In Clark County, club members celebrate by hosting a Home for the Holidays event, complete with food and entertainment. Ferndale's club hosts a dinner where everyone brings a gift -- for a child at Arkansas Children's Hospital. And Searcy EHC members make sure all the kids at the Searcy Children's Home have presents for Christmas.
Montgomery County groups work together each year on Operation Santa Claus. Individuals with DHS, the Health Department, local churches and schools fill out forms for children who are in need. The information collected includes the child's sizes and interests. EHC steps in to organize the project, "adopting" out the needs of those children to families and individuals who want to help. A three-gift package is created for each child. One box contains clothing, socks, and underwear; the second, toiletry items; and the third, toys. With these gifts, some children also receive coats, books, and grocery gift certificates for their families.
Many EHC clubs partner with charities and non-profit organizations during the holidays. In Marion County and Garland County, members make clothes for bears for the Salvation Army, to be given out during the holidays. David O. Dodd's club fills stockings for the Salvation Army. Sylvan Hills' club donates gifts to be distributed at the Little Rock Air Force Base. Many of the EHC clubs also participate in a food drive with the Arkansas Foodbank Network. Searcy County's EHC members collect food for the Foodbank, which is then distributed by 4-H members.
Oliver says she's overwhelmed by the lengths EHC members go to, ensuring that as many people as possible have a happy holiday season. "It's just absolutely amazing -- I can't believe how giving these people are. I know they do things for their own communities too -- but they do so much for others."
Randolph County EHC members organized a "Santa Sale" for the county's two nursing homes. Each resident was given play money to purchase needed goods for themselves or Christmas presents for others. The selection of items in the sale include quilts and afghans handmade by EHC members, new socks, stuffed animals, porcelain items, ornaments and more.
If you'd like to help EHC spread the holiday cheer, contact your local county extension office.
The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
December 14, 2007
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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November 2007 | December 2007 | January 2008 | February 2008 | March 2008 | April 2008
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