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By Maura Britt

The holiday season is here, and the Britches & Boots 4-H Horse Club members are keeping their spirits up by continuing their annual holiday service project to support the community. As part of the 4-H program, members have a pledge that they learn and practice at meetings and 4-H activities.

Club members and family used their hands and hearts to collect peanut butter and jelly items for Franklin Cooperative Ministry (FCM), which serves Southampton County, Franklin and southern Isle of Wight County. The goal is to support people in times of distress, but not foster dependency. FCM is a nonprofit that provides limited emergency assistance located at 301 W. First Ave., Franklin, and can be reached at 757-516-6322. Many organizations work to help FCM in its mission.

Our club met using a virtual meeting application, Zoom, in November to discuss our next meeting and party. The club members decided that as the pandemic case numbers are continuing to increase as the weather gets colder, that they should reschedule the party to have “Christmas in July,” but continue with their Christmas service project. FCM is always in need of peanut butter and jelly, usually a lot more jelly, so the club started this service project about five years ago. The members discussed that they collected 90 items last year and decided to set a goal of collecting 100-plus items for 2020. They began collecting. This year, the club collected 127 peanut butter and jelly items for our service project.

If you love horses, then join the Britches & Boots 4-H Horse Club. Club members do not need to own a horse, just love horses. At this time, meetings are once a month via Zoom. We are hopeful that we will be able to get back to in person meetings in the spring. All club members must register because the 4-H insurance covers you while you are attending meetings and activities.

To register online, visit https://va.4honline.com or call the Southampton County Extension Office at 757-653-2572.