4-H Club of Whitecourt holds electronics fundraiser to raise money for winter camp

 

The Whitecourt Multi 4-H Club held an Electronics Recycle Round-up and Bottle Drive event on Saturday, January 6 in the Walmart parking lot. For several hours, members of the group were set up with a trailer and accepted old electronics including computers, TVs, printers, and cellphones. The timeline of the fundraiser coincides with people replacing electronics at Christmas, and it gives folks a great way to get rid of their items while helping a fantastic local club.

4-H Project Leader, Karen Marin, said that costs pop up throughout the year and that fundraisers such as this one are a big help. “4-H earns funds by selling electronics to Alberta Recycle.”

In fact, the funds raised from this event will go towards a camp coming up in just a couple of weeks. “We’re paying for all our junior members to go to winter camp at the end of January, so we needed some funds to send them.” The one day, overnight-stay camp which takes place in Lac la Nonne will be lots of fun for the children. “There will be swimming, archery, and lots of outdoor activities. For many of these kids it’s the first time away from home for a camp.”

The group meets once a month and projects happen multiple times a year. There are varying topics that the children can do including horse, alpaca, pheasant, quilting, chicken, and beef. For those who are not familiar with the 4-H club, it is an organization for children ages six through 21 that provides experiences for young people where they learn by doing hands-on projects in areas like health, science, agriculture, and citizenship.

“They interact with different age groups. It’s a great learning experience for older kids to be able to work with the younger ones, and it’s a great role model for the younger kids to work with the older ones. They get to experience lots of different things that they wouldn’t get to experience normally.” For example, Karen explained the kick off for this year was a rock climbing adventure. “It was really cool!”

There are 14 members in Whitecourt Multi 4-H this year and they would love to grow their numbers. Children learn all sorts of skills, both with animals and textiles, and with book work projects that include math. To take part in certain projects, children need to have access to animals such as horses or pheasants, but children who do not live on a farm can still take part in other projects throughout the year where animals are not required.

The horse club will be making saddle stands and there will also be a summer camp. If you would like more information about joining the club or donating old electronics towards the fundraiser, contact the club on Facebook at Whitecourt Multi 4-H or call 780-648-2141.