Somerset County 4-H Club Receives DAR Honor for Operation Paperback Project
Somerset County 4-H Club Receives DAR Community Service Award for Operation Paperback Project
Posted by Jennifer Korneski, Somerset County Healthy Living Program Coordinator
The Just Kidding goat club of Somerset County 4-H was awarded first place in New Jersey, for community service in the Junior American Citizens contest hosted by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and received FIRST PLACE in the Eastern Division (New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia)!
They are entered as a finalist in the national contest. Winning entries in the national contest will be announced and on display, at the DAR’s annual Continental Congress at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., June 29-July 3.
The nine members of the club collected 192 books that were shipped via Operation Paperback to military bases and active service members at home and abroad. A total of 82 children’s books were sent to Fort Wainright, Alaska to help create a library for military families on the base. Other recipients included an Armed Forces base in Europe, the Coast Guard in San Diego, California, a counselling and therapy group for veterans in Los Angeles, and veterans in various states.
Beth Kavanaugh and Nicole Perry serve as the club’s leaders, and they were aided by 4-H and Operation Paperback volunteer Marion McGlynn.
Somerset County 4-H Just Kidding Goat Club Receiving Award
The annual Junior American Citizens contest is open to youth from grade K-12 with categories in art, literature and community service. Awards are presented on the local, state and national level.
Students have participated in the DAR Junior American Citizens program since 1901. By reaching out to students across the United States, the program fosters the idea that the rights and responsibilities of citizenship can and should be taught from an early age.
Just Kidding was sponsored by the Elizabeth Snyder-Continental Chapter of the DAR based in Green Brook. The DAR is a non-profit service organization open to women 18 and over, who can trace their descent from a man or woman who aided the cause of American independence. For more than a century, DAR has promoted historical preservation, education, and patriotic endeavor. Learn more at www.DAR.org.
