More than 50 high school students and chaperones from across the state will volunteer on Thursday, March 20, 2014 at Catholic Charities & the St. Vincent’s Programs in Reno as part of the 85th annual Nevada FFA Convention.
During the community service effort, students will take a tour of the Catholics Charities facility and then will assemble boxes of food to be distributed through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). TEFAP is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans, including elderly people, by providing them with emergency food and nutrition assistance at no cost.
After the service project, students will attend a workshop to learn how they can execute similar projects in their own communities. The project will last from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is sponsored by the Buy Nevada program.
The annual project helps teach students the importance of service and community relations. Each year, convention attendees visit schools, clean parks and participate in other service learning activities. In 2013, the Nevada FFA Association helped pack and distribute food at the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.
“Service is one of the core values of the National FFA program,” said Ethan Marshall, Nevada State FFA president. “This project reinforces the importance of that value for students and allows us to give back to the Truckee Meadows community.”
The service project is one of numerous activities at the 85th Nevada State FFA Convention, which runs from Tuesday, March 18 to Friday, March 21. This year’s theme is “Ride Your Dreams.” The convention will also host the Agriculture Mechanic Olympics on Thursday, March 20 at 2 p.m. in front of the Joe Crowley Student Union on the University of Nevada, Reno campus.
The Nevada FFA Association will hold the convention at the University. During the week, 513 students will travel from counties across Nevada to compete in agricultural career events, to volunteer and to attend motivational sessions. They will also meet with Jackson Harris, National FFA Southern Region vice president and Gage Willey, California State FFA treasurer.
