By: Ag. Reporter Mollie Goode
The Madisonville North Hopkins High School Future Farmers of America chapter is embracing the organization’s motto, “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live and Living to Serve” by participating in the Freight Box Challenge.
The chapter has taken on the Freight Box Challenge which pushes students to build a medical clinic out of a freight box container. The medical clinic was then sent to Liberia where it will serve people. The challenge has stretched far beyond the chapter with members of the community even getting involved.
Westyn Miles, the Sentinel of the chapter, says 427 students from all pathways had the opportunity to be a part of the project. He emphasized that without everyone’s collective effort, the project wouldn’t have had such a significant impact on the community.
Miles adds that last year’s officer team played a huge role in seeing the project come to life. The team worked hard to foster connections with organizations like Supplies Over Seas, the Kentucky Farm Bureau and Harbor Freight to help sponsor the project. On behalf of the chapter, Miles expresses gratitude, stating the project wouldn’t have been completed without their support.
After the freight box was finished and sent to Liberia, the chapter had the opportunity to present their work at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the American Farm Bureau Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Miles went to the Farm Bureau Convention as a representative of his chapter and says it was a once in a lifetime experience he was grateful to be a part of. During his time in Texas, Miles had the opportunity to network and advocate for the Freight Box Challenge.
Miles says, nine out of 10 people were amazed by the magnitude of the project and he could see it lit a spark in the eyes of numerous individuals. He adds that all of the gratification and appreciation for the project has inspired the chapter to take on a second project and create blueprints for others to do the same.
The chapter looks forward to taking on a second project and hopes to continue to inspire others to create a freight box clinic of their own.
Photos from the Madisonville North Hopkins FFA Chapter