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Capes and Cakes

Manawa FFA, Girl Scouts launch service project

By Holly Neumann


Manawa FFA students and Manawa Girls Scout Troop 2071 have teamed up to help bring smiles to the faces of young hospital patients at the Child Life Services-Pediatrics in Marshfield.

According to FFA Advisor Sandy Cordes, each year the FFA works on the service project of collecting soda can tabs for the Ronald McDonald House.

“This year my FFA officer team decided they wanted to do an additional project, so we have been pondering different ideas,” she said.

After visiting with her friend and fellow agricultural education instructor Jodi Meyer, the two came up with an idea.

“We were discussing ways that we could potentially brighten the day of families who are receiving services at children’s hospitals,” Cordes said. “And a plan was concocted to make capes to help alleviate the fear and boredom of kids who are at the hospital.”

Cordes then called on Jessie Ort, who is the leader of the Girl Scouts, for help.

“When I called Jessie Ort to see if her Girl Scout group would be interested in taking on this service project, she misunderstood my message and thought I wanted to do a ‘cake’ project,” said Cordes. “When I called her back she laughed and said ‘capes’ sounded delightful and they would be thrilled to partner with us.”

And so on Friday, March 10, the two groups got together for their “Capes and Cakes” project.

Ort researched the patterns and coordinated the logistics of the after school project.

“The Girl Scouts have all been touched in one way or another with friends and family who have been sick and had long hospital stays,” said Ort. “They were very excited to be able to make something that could bring some fun and happiness to those who are going through a rough time and show how much they admire their perseverance.”

“This is a lot of fun,” said Marilyn Klatt.

“I’m excited to get started,” said Savanna Hansen.

The Little Wolf Junior/Senior High School FFA members were ready to help.

“I was pleased with their engagement with the Girl Scouts,” said Cordes, “and appreciative of their efforts to bring the project to fruition.”

They, too, seemed to enjoy the project.

“I wanted to help out because I have some crafting experience and thought the idea was really cool,” said sophomore Brooklynn Wepner. “The whole time they were making the capes, I was having a lot of fun and was really excited to see how they all turned out.”

Matayah Pethke also loved the idea.

“When I heard about Capes for Kids, it drew me in right away,” said Pethke. “When I was helping the Girl Scouts, all I could think about was how it was going to make many children feel special and happy. I am blessed that FFA was part of this opportunity.”

In total, 11 super hero capes were made.

“Super hero capes are perfect for kids in the hospital, because they are truly heroes,” said Ort “They endure many painful, hard and stressful things that the average person will never have to deal with. Many will handle it with great strength, fight and maturity.”

Ort hopes that all the Girl Scouts will gain a greater appreciation, respect and awareness of others situations.

“That they will learn teamwork, crafting skills, self-advocacy, familiarity and appreciation for FFA and the importance of helping others,” she said.

She said that the high school students were wonderful role models, showing that it is important to volunteer and taking time out of their busy schedules for younger students.

“They were patient, well organized and had fantastic communication skills,” Ort said. “The extra hands and supervision was greatly appreciated with sharp objects and hot surfaces. We have such a wonderful school community that works together to make wonderful things happen.”

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