Sad Ending to an Emerald Star Project

[Honey Tree]

Our fair started putting away funds to pay for shade cloth along the back side of the sheep, goat and hog barns.  This is the area where the 4-H and FFA clubs and chapters set up grooming, tack storage and general hang-out areas.  This money isn't in the budget so each club pays $50 for a 10' x 20+'  spot where they place their EZ-Ups.  Larger clubs can secure 2 spots.  The estimate cost of the project is $14,000 for shade cloth, poles and cabling.  Time required to secure the funds is about 4 years.

My daughter and a teen boy from our club embarked on an Emerald Star Project.  With the blessings of the fair CEO they set out to collect the recyclable cans and bottles from around the livestock barns and show rings.  The money would go back to the fair to help fund the Shade Cloth Project.  Last year the trash was overflowing with them.  They set up recycling containers but could only secure 8 of them from the local trash company.

We spent at least 3 hours for 8 consecutive evenings rummaging thru trash cans because thats where most of the cans and bottles ended up.  The fair was kind enough to let us use a horse stall to store the cans and bottles.

The fair ended a week ago and we spend several days last week emptying, crushing and sorting cans and bottles.

We returned today to continue the huge task of empty, crush, sort.  We arrived to find that over the weekend thieves pried off the hasp and stole almost all of what had been collected.  The loss was somewhere around $400-$600.  Fortunately we had taken $100 worth in last week and they left about $100.  Not a total loss but still very disappointing.  They probably ran out of time but I suspect if we hadn't removed what was left that they would cleaned everything else out tonight.

I'm so proud of both of the kids for working so hard.  There wasn't a single day that our weather was under 100 degrees.  They benefited the fair by reducing the trash that needed to be picked up, saved the fair the cost of disposal, reduced the landfill by a mountain and put the fair a bit closer to shading the 4-H and FFA areas.

[Heresheep]

That's horrible!  People can be so cruel!  Maybe start a gofund me account and tell about what happened, perhaps some good-hearted people will help you out and exceed what was stolen.

[EmsoffLambs]

What lowlifes. How discouraging. What lowlifes! 

[Honey Tree]

I know that drug addicts do most of the recycling and wire theft around here.  Regardless of the motive behind the theft, I hurt to have these two kids victimized.  They worked so very hard. 

We really appreciate the clubs that held onto their cans and bottles until evening to make sure that the Emerald Star project received them, the police officers that took the report, the trash company that provided the recycling bins and the fair for helping with this project.  Overall it was a great experience for the kids (and for me).

A Go Fund Me account sounds like a great idea but I don't think the 4-H rules would allow it.  Does anyone know?

The kids will call tomorrow to set up an appointment with the fair CEO to present the $191 that they collected.

[Heresheep]

I doubt that 4H would allow it, however, you could probably get around that.  One of the kids could set it up on his/her own and state that all money collected will be donated to the  4H Emerald Star program or to the fair for whatever is needed.

[Honey Tree]

Our local newspaper, The Modesto Bee, is running the story.  You can see a photo thru the attached link.

http://www.modbee.com/news/local/turlock/article165113032.html

The reporter referred to the project as a "Gold Star" rather than an Emerald Star project but it's nice that they are running the story.

[Honey Tree]

Here's a photo.  This is some of their hard work.  The thieves made off with all but a few of the bags you see.  Some of the bags were filled with cans that they had already crushed.  Those, of course, were amongst those taken.

[trademark]

That's terrible.
Karma will catch up with them some day.

[Honey Tree]

The kids were contacted last week by Doctors Medical Center.  DMC is a very large hospital in our area.  This morning we were taken to the board meeting and they presented the kids with over $600 donated by the employees.  They even gave both of the kids a bag with an array of terrific items.  We were humbled by their generosity. 

A couple of people on the Modesto Bee's Facebook page said that they were sending checks to the fair to go toward the project.  Yosemite Farm Credit gave the kids two bags of CRV cans and bottles.  We have a couple of other people that would like to donate their cans and bottles.

There is so much kindness, we really feel blessed

[trademark]

I love reading stories like this.