Give Back Program by Cheri Kemp
Jangled nerves gave way to excited applause as the three student groups learned their fate following their presentations. For some of these students, this was a repeat performance as they had participated in the Give Back Program before. The three schools participating this year were Rochelle Township High School Student Council; Dixon High School Student Council and Key Club and Ashton-Franklin Center High School FFA. Just to give a brief explanation of the Give Back Pro- gram, Crest Foods invites area high school organiza- tions to pick a charity, prepare a presentation on why their charity should be given a tidy sum of money, and in doing so, the students learn about the charity; learn how to prepare and present a winning argument for their cause; and hopefully develop a sense of giving back to their community and how good volunteerism can feel. It is no small feat for these students and their advisors to take the time to pick their charity, research it and prepare their material and practice for the presentation. Our hats are off to each and every one of the students and teachers involved in this program. Ashton-Franklin Center FFA gave arguments in support of the Ashton Community Foundation, established in 2012, which provides assistance for those in the Ashton, Franklin Grove and Lee Center communities when situa- tions beyond someone’s control can become a hardship. In the last 5 years over $25,000 has been distributed to more than 100 families in times of need. The students, Jay Long, Jesus Agular, Tyler Crowell, Jonah Hilliker, Dylan Frady, Emalie Vogeler and Emily Stone each took their turn at the podium to describe what can be accomplished with these funds. Some of the money in the fund was used to purchase an iPad for a child to use while his mother was spending large amounts of time in the hospital; a family had to travel for medical treatment for a child and funds were used to help with hotel expenses; after the tornado of 2015, funds were used to assist families who suf- fered damage. This is just the tip of the iceberg. You could feel the dedication these students had in providing a boost to the Ashton Community Foundation funds with the money they would receive from their hard work in preparing their plan. The Rochelle Rescue Mission was to be the recipient of any funds the Rochelle Township High School Student Council would be awarded. The students involved were Ande Madsen, Kanaan Childers, Zephan Drew, DiQuan Ishmon and Fabian Hueramo. The students of RTHS have been holding fundraisers within their school for many years to donate to the RRM. Within their own school there are 43 students who are considered homeless. A big goal of this group, for the benefit of the RRM, is to have a family space where families can be kept together. As it is, men and women are segregated, even if they are in the same family. This push for family space came about from one of the RTHS homeless students own story. Because men and women are segregated, he could not stay with his mother and he felt that separation impacted him tremendously. The RRM has many needs that are taken care of to the extent they can be with donations. Those needs cover a wide variety of things that most any home uses from toiletries to food. The Student Council and Key Club of the Dixon High School was also prepared with persuasive skills to present Back: DiQuon Ishmon, Fabian Hueramo, Kanaan Childers, Zephan Drew, Jonathan Rivera, Jesus Agular, Dylan Frady, Emalie Vogeler and Emily Stone. Front: Ande Madson. Caroline Costello and Isabelle Lindenmeyer. Not pictured: Jay Long, Tyler Crowell, Jonah Hilliker who left for an AFC Baseball game
8 Crest Ink July, August & September 2017
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