Sarah Gomer, a freshman at San Benito High School, completed her 4-H All Star Project March 31. She is a member of Fairview 4-H and has been involved in 4-H since she was 9.
She started planning her project in October with hopes of drawing attention to the needs of pets in the community as well as to how dogs can help those with visual impairments. For her project she hosted a community meeting at the Hollister United Methodist Church on March 31. She invited speakers including Stan and Guin Jenanyan, from Fresno, who spoke about raising puppies for the Guide Dog for the Blind Program. Other speakers included Mary Church, a local teen who has a companion dog to help her with her visual impairment; Zeanna Bunch, who is a representative for Guide Dogs for the Blind’s speakers bureau and Susan Carpenter, from Pet Friends. In addition to the focus on guide dogs, the event also included information about the importance of spaying and neutering pets.
More than 50 people attended the event, including 34 4-H members and 17 community members, Gomer said.
Gomer collected donations for Pet Friends, including a generous donation from Ranchers Feed. She and some volunteers also baked dog biscuits.
To move forward with her project, she presented it to the All Star Committee and the San Benito 4-H council. They had to approve the plan and budget for the project.
