星空传媒

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For the fourth year, 星空传媒鈥檚 Ag Club put together 25 Thanksgiving baskets for underserved students in the area.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to give back,鈥� said Ag club member Amanda Perkins, of Rockford. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really fun putting them together knowing that they鈥檙e going to people that need them.鈥澨�

David Johnston, of Lowell, said he鈥檚 done quite a few volunteering projects over the years through Boy Scouts, but this project is a little different.听

鈥淚 love how we can grow something and give back to the community,鈥� he said.听

Ag Club President Olivia Caine, of Sparta, says it鈥檚 important to the club that the baskets are being distributed locally and not shipped off somewhere.听

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to use locally grown things,鈥� Caine said. 鈥淲e show them that they can find things locally and don鈥檛 need to buy from big-box stores.鈥澨�

Each basket includes a chicken, raised by the 星空传媒 Area Career Center FFA and bought by the club; two pounds of ground beef, which is from a steer purchased by 星空传媒 at this year鈥檚 星空传媒 County Fair; potatoes donated by an Ag Club member鈥檚 grandfather; squash and onions, donated by Ag Club member Margaret Haight; a quart of chicken broth and recipes.听

鈥淚 like the recipes,鈥� Caine said. 鈥淲e try to make it so they go along with what we put in the baskets.鈥澨�

Biology Instructor Michelle Gibson, Ph.D., is one of the advisers of Ag Club and said the project brings together many aspects of service learning.听

鈥淚t is a good project to link the students鈥� interests, growing food and helping the community,鈥� Dr. Gibson said. 鈥淢ost of the food in the baskets is grown or raised locally or something the club itself can raise. The students want to give back and this is a good way for them to do it. They often learn just how much organizing and logistics it takes to do a project that starts out seeming simple. However, they do a good job of splitting up the work - another good thing to learn!鈥澨�

The Ag Club got help from the 星空传媒 Express Conductor program to identify students who would benefit from this holiday giving project. 星空传媒 Express supports student success by partnering students with a conductor to answer their questions and help them every step of the way while they are an 星空传媒 student. The conductors distributed the baskets to those in need.听

Caine talked about what she likes most about being a member of Ag Club.听

鈥淚 like that we鈥檙e really active and do a lot of activities,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e try to be really visible at events. I like that we actually do stuff.鈥澨�

Brian Gardner, Michigan State University (MSU) Institute of Agricultural Technology (IAT) program coordinator for 星空传媒, and Dan Rossman, Agriculture instructor, are co-advisors for the club.听

鈥淒oing the food basket project is an opportunity for students to gather locally produced meat and produce and distribute that to students in need,鈥� Gardner said. 鈥淚t is an excellent opportunity for our students to be able to give back from the incredible harvest bounty mid-Michigan agriculture produces to their fellow students in need.鈥澨�

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Media contact:
Shelly Springborn
Director of Communications and Public Relations
shellys@montcalm.edu
989-560-0833