Searcy, AR. (LP) — FFA is an extracurricular student organization for those interested in agriculture and leadership. Currently, FFA has over 700,000 student members as part of 8,600 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The members here at Searcy High School are an affiliation of the largest student led organization in the USA, the National FFA Organization.
FFA and agricultural education provide a strong foundation for the youth of America and the future of the Food & Fiber Industry. Each year, FFA travels around the country to celebrate National FFA Week. It’s a time to share the story of what FFA is and how FFA is preparing future leaders through agricultural education. It’s a great time to share what FFA is and the impact it has on members every day.
Here at Searcy High School, our FFA Chapter holds activities to educate the public about agriculture and its impact on our community. FFA promotes citizenship, volunteerism, patriotism, and cooperation; the team is always working and planning activities that correlate to these characteristics. FFA hopes to bring awareness of the positive impact FFA and agricultural education has and will have on its members. These activities engage members and provide them the opportunity to have fun at the same time.
Addison Safley, sponser of FFA states, “Agriculture is based around supplying basic needs for mankind: food, fiber, shelter. When the Chapter Officers and I met to discuss what activities we wanted to conduct this year, Lids for Kids was mentioned. It was very successful a few years ago when we did it so we wanted to do it again. The idea behind it is to put food in the hands of those who are in need. Being an agriculturally based student group, it only makes sense that we not only learn where our food comes from but also work to end hunger right here in our own community.”
Lids for Kids is a fundraising campaign to raise money for the SHS Food Pantry. Students who purchase a campaign sticker are allowed to wear their caps during school to show their support of the Lids for kids Campaign as they work to eliminate hunger in our community.
Students can purchase stickers/tags during lunch which will allow them to wear their cap each day during National FFA Week. This campaign is not only beneficial to the recipients of the food that is purchased with the proceeds of the campaign, but it also provides all students on campus to support the hunger issue.
SHS FFA and the Lids for Kids Campaign provides those who want to help with an avenue to do so. On top of all of that, the students get to wear their cap, and who doesn’t enjoy sporting their favorite cap in the school hallways!
Safley states, “The letters ‘FFA’ stand for Future Farmers of America. These letters are a part of our history and our heritage that will never change. But FFA is not just for students who want to be production farmers; FFA also welcomes members who aspire to careers as teachers, doctors, scientists, business owners and more.”
Stephanie Ward, a captain of FFA states, “I joined FFA in 9th grade at Beebe HS because I have always loved all things ag (agriculture). Planting in the garden with my nana, riding horses all summer, helping my family fix things around the house, and building a chicken coop when I was little. I knew all of these things tied back into agriculture and I thought that was just the coolest thing.”
FFA pulls kids out of their comfort zones, gives them confidence, life lessons, and so many opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have. This project is beneficial to our school because all of the money goes back to our schools food pantry.
Ward states, “FFA has given me so many opportunities to help others. Seeing how these good deeds affect our classmates/peers is very eye opening. Helping others is always a heartwarming thing that makes anyone feel good. And being in the front lines of that makes me proud to be part of such an important organization.”
A couple weeks ago several people from the FFA chapter went to IMPACT/Greenhand conference in Hot Springs. Which is a leadership camp. They learned about what service is and how it can help the community, making an impact in our own town and school. They decided to come up with a couple service projects to do for national FFA week. These projects will help raise awareness of our chapter around our school, as well as help our classmates and others in our community.
Gwenyth Schowe, also a captain of FFA states, “Doing something like this for my community makes me feel good because I am both helping my chapter and I am helping my community.”
Today, the National FFA Organization remains committed to the individual student, providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
Ward states, “In FFA, I have learned the joys and discomforts of being a leader. Through my years in FFA I have been a member of the horse judging team, and when I moved to Searcy last year I became the captain. I’m also an officer this year. FFA has taught me that working your butt off can be so rewarding, and gives you a sense of pride that is incomparable. But it has also taught me that sometimes things won’t go as planned, you’ll have to work around the obstacles in life that will always be there, but you should never be less proud of yourself or your team.”
FFA continues to help the next generation rise up to meet life’s challenges by helping its members to develop their own unique talents and explore their interests in a broad range of agricultural career pathways.
