Students in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) Chapter at Arizona Agribusiness and Equine Center (AAEC) Red Mountain Early College High School are taking on monthly projects to give back to their community.
Following the FFA motto, Learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, and living to serve, the members have participated in various events over the last semester. They supported the recent MIX 96.9 radio station awareness event, which was termed Bras for a Cause.
“The purpose was to collect as many bras as they could to support and bring awareness to breast cancer and domestic violence,” said Britney Marsh, agricultural educator and FFA advisor at the school. “At a school of only 166 students, 116 bras were donated, making AAEC Red Mountain FFA the second largest collection site in the Valley,” she said.
December was an especially busy month for the chapter. The team collected toys and school supplies, as well as hygiene items to create 20 care packages for children at Sunshine Acres Children’s Home, in Mesa. They also painted 24 Christmas ornaments and hand-delivered them to the adults and children at the Arizona Burn Center in Phoenix. In addition, they wrote more than 50 Christmas cards as a means of thanking the soldiers stationed overseas during the holidays.
Earlier in the fall, the chapter painted 41 pumpkins as decorations for the elderly at The Good Samaritan Society nursing home.
“Already this month, the FFA chapter is collecting fabric donations to make tie blankets to give to people afflicted with cancer, and is planning to continue their community projects throughout the year,” Britney said.
AAEC’s Red Mountain public charter school is an early college high school, offering students the opportunity to earn college credits. The school is located at 2165 N. Power Road. For more information, call (480) 854-1504.