By Deb Kroon
Review Staff Writer
This is the eighth year for The Christmas Tree Forest for Love INC in Worthington, and for at least five of those years, the Grand Prairie 4-H Club has chosen to get involved. Each of these years, the members of Grand Prairie Rockets have chosen a theme for a tree, made decorations for it and donated the tree to the Forest. Part of those years, they have joined the residents of the Adrian Country Cottages in making the ornaments, and in some of the years they have made them all. This year they again will join with the residents. Some of the ornaments will stay at the Cottages and the rest will go on the tree. The theme for this year’s tree will be “the 4-H stockings were hung…”
Austin and Jacob Henning, sons of Andy and Sara Henning, have decided to take this theme one step farther. These two young men have taken on a wide variety of projects in the five years they have been involved with the Grand Prairie Rockets. This year they are working towards completing their Youth Leadership project. To complete this they have to come up a project, implement it and follow it through until the finish, keeping a record of every step they take. So to go along with the Club’s theme, Austin and Jacob have chosen to hold a sock drive so they can donate a collection of socks to Love INC along with the tree.
“Our sock drive will run through November,” explained Jacob. “We will have boxes at Zion Lutheran Church (which will be available from 9:00 a.m. until noon on Sundays), The Adrian Library, Adrian Hardware and the Nobles County Review. You can drop off socks any time during business hours, and at the library, if you put them in a plastic bag they can be dropped into the book return. The socks do need to be new and can be for any age, male or female.” The plan is that once November is over, the Henning brothers will take the socks and use them as a tree skirt for the 4-H tree.
Austin went on, “To be eligible to become an ambassador for the Grand Prairie Rockets we have to head up or lead different projects. We learn something from them and also help out others. Last year we worked with the Cloverbuds (the youngest group in 4-H) and keep records, everything has to be written down.” When asked just exactly what the ambassadors do he explained, “They get to go and visit another 4-H club in another state to learn and see how things are done there and learn about the crops and then that state’s kids come here to do the same. The past two years we have been paired with a 4-H Club from Idaho. We will be looking for another state to pair with next year.”
Love Inc is a Christian organization located in Worthington and is a part of a larger national organization. The purpose of the organization is “to equip Christians to live out their faith in actions, empower people in need to overcome recurring challenges and to support givers and receivers in the process of transformation.” Each year area businesses, organizations or individuals from around the area decorate and donate Christmas trees to the Christmas Tree Forest. The trees are placed on display at the First United Methodist Church in Worthington. This year’s dates for the Christmas Tree Forest are Deceember 4-6. The public comes in to view the trees and votes for their favorite by donating at that tree. At the end of the couple of days, a winner is declared according to the amount of donations made for the tree and all the funds raised goes to Love Inc. The trees are then given to families who might need a tree or are sold through a silent auction.
So as we enter into the Christmas season and a time of giving, remember Austin and Jacob Henning and donate socks to their collection to give to others in need. Look for the boxes in Adrian Hardware, the Nobles County Review, the Adrian Library, or Zion Lutheran Church. Help make someone’s feet warmer this winter season and help these two young 4-H members with a project.
