The Ozark FFA Leadership Team.
The Ozark FFA Chapter in Ozark, Mo., decided to give back last year for FFA Week with project called “Smiles for Seniors.” It was led by FFA member and officer Kaitlyn Houghton, and carried out by her fellow officers and advisor, Mr. Heath Wright.
Smiles for Seniors was created with individuals in nursing homes in mind. Most of these seniors rarely see their families or get gifts. So, Ozark FFA made it its mission to ensure that each and every one of the residents had a grin on their face.
The Planning Process
The first thing these officers needed to do was get funding for their project. They did so by applying for a Living to Serve Grant through National FFA. After receiving the grant, they created a budget and a plan. They ultimately decided they wanted to make gift bags for seniors in care homes.
After creating their plan, the officers shopped for items, such as fuzzy socks, fidgets, nostalgic toys, board games, candy and word search puzzles for dementia patients. Then, they checked out their items and returned to the school, where they packed over 100 gift bags for senior citizens. They filled each bag with various items that the seniors could enjoy, and made sure to clip an agriculture joke on the front of each bag to give the seniors another thing to smile about.
Taryn Dunivan (left), Ryleigh Wilson (middle) and Kaitlyn Houghton (right), assemble gift bags for seniors.
The Plan
During FFA Week, the Ozark FFA Officer Team loaded up a bus and went to the Ozark Nursing & Care Center to deliver the gift bags to seniors. As they walked through the door with their Ozark FFA polos on and boxes full of presents in hand, they were greeted by smiling faces of the staff, who were just as excited to give out the gifts as the officers were.
They then created a plan with the staff to make sure every resident got a present and had time to talk to an FFA member. All of this was done to brighten up these residents’ days and months, as getting visitors brings joy to many of these seniors’ hearts.
Blake Herring (left), Rylee Nichols (middle) and Ellah Chesik (right) carry boxes into the care home.
Delivering Smiles
The care home then gave the opportunity to members to walk with them to hand deliver each bag to the residents. The officers passed out every bag, making sure to stop and talk to the residents, introduce themselves and discuss FFA. The officers made sure that every senior had a gift bag before moving onto the next area, making sure everyone got a smile.
Garrett Stark hands out a gift bag to a resident
The Smiles
The officers then roamed the halls with the care staff, knocking on doors and visiting rooms to see each and every resident. They delivered a gift bag, then listened to stories from residents and cracked jokes. The home was bursting with joy and smiles from the staff, residents and officers.
When asked about their favorite part of this experience, officers told the story about how, when an older lady opened her bag and saw a toy car, she was filled with joy. They said she told them how much she enjoyed toy cars and had a long discussion about them. It may have seemed like a small gift to these officers, but to her it was meaningful and brought her joy.
Bailey Harden (left), Rylee Nichols (middle) and Ellah Chesik (right) talk to a resident.
The Impact
While these may have seemed like small gifts to these officers, they meant so much to these residents. Putting smiles on their faces and giving them the chance to talk to young leaders brought many of these residents joy. This chapter embodied the FFA motto of “Living to Serve” by serving its community during FFA Week.
As FFA Week approaches, think about how you can follow the FFA motto and how you can help serve as a young leader.
