Hollister sophomore serves the homeless with 4-H All Star
community project
Hollister sophomore serves the homeless with 4-H All Star community project
Hollister’s Linnae Rodriguez started planning last Sunday evening’s activities back in October or November. That’s when the high school sophomore who attends the Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy decided on an approach for her 4-H All Star project.
Rodriguez and other 4-H club members visited the San Benito Homeless Shelter Jan. 29, cooking dinner for the clients. They also arrived with 37 sets of homemade gloves, scarves and more than 27 beanies, along with other items for donation.
“For an All-Star (project), when you apply you have to put on an event that helps support something in your city or informs people about 4-H,” she said.
Rodriguez came up with the idea of helping at the homeless shelter because she has volunteered serving meals there through her church, Hollister First Presbyterian.
“We never get to cook. We just serve,” she said. “I wanted to be able to help them.”
Rodriguez is a member of Sunnyslope 4-H. She enlisted the help of students from her club as well as those from Cienega, Fairview and Union 4-H. The volunteers made the warm-weather clothing and collected some donations of other items. Rodriguez said the shelter staff members are always looking for toiletries, socks, hooded sweatshirts, jackets and other new or slightly used items.
To move her project forward, Rodriguez had to have it approved by the All-Star committee and the San Benito 4-H council.
Rodriguez has been involved in 4-H for 10 years, and she mentioned manyof the activities in which students can be involved. Some of the projects she listed included junk drawer robotics, arts and crafts, sewing, cooking, dog care, wood working and farm animals.
She said that students get stars for completing leadership activities. The stars are bronze, silver, gold, platinum and emerald. Once a student, such as Rodriguez, receives all the stars, they can apply for an All-Star, the highest level achievable.
As an All-Star, Rodriguez said she will help to put on events in the county such as a 4-H achievement day, 4-H presentation day and a workshop at a Leadership Conference of Regional Teens. As a sophomore, she can attend the statewide leadership conference.
She said she is thankful for those who have helped with her project.
“Whenever we go to donate, we don’t get a lot of donations,” she said, of the shelter. “I figured if I helped make them, we would get more donations.”
To donate to the homeless shelter,
call Cindy Parr at (831) 801-9531.
