Help Needed for Snyder 4-H to Rebuild Headquarters After Fire
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (OnFocus) – Snyder 4-H Club members are fundraising to rebuild their headquarters after an October 15 fire destroyed the building, located at 4290 State Highway 73 N. The Snyder School was a one-room country school house until 1959 before serving as the club headquarters.
“We don’t know what all of the costs will be at this point to rebuild,” said Andrea Galvan, club leader. “We are replacing a building from 1892, and although we want to rebuild in the spirit of the old clubhouse, we also will need to modernize the building and amenities inside of it. We want to start with a goal of $50,000.”
Snyder 4-H is probably best known for their food stand at the Central Wisconsin State Fair in Marshfield and the homemade pies they make, but the club’s mission extends far beyond food.
“All of our families put in many hours at the food stand during the week of the fair. We also have kids that participate in showing animals, photography, arts and crafts, and many other projects,” said Galvan. “We also like to give back to the community. We have a section of highway in front of the clubhouse that we clean every year, we collect food donations for area food pantries, and support other community events.”
Snyder 4-H also provides scholarships for graduating seniors within their own club as well as scholarships offered to students from Wood County pursuing degrees in higher education.
“We love to send out kids to camps and conferences, and doing activities outside of 4-H–from ice skating to rodeos, cook-outs, and crafting, and most of all, preparing our youth to be the leaders of tomorrow,” said Galvan. “The 4-H pledge says that we are pledging our heads, hearts, hands, and health to our community. We try to make a difference when and where we are able to.”
She added that many club activities involve youth learning by doing–whether showing cows at the fair, learning to make jam, taking the perfect picture, or running club meetings.
“We want our kids to make a difference in their community and in the world,” she said.
The Snyder 4-H is hoping to raise funds for their new shelter soon, but in the meantime are hosting meetings at the VFW Post 2534.
“The VFW Post 2534 has very generously offered the use of their building to us for our meetings until we have a new building. We are so appreciative of the VFW and are happy to have them as partners and supporters of our club,” said Galvan. “Thank you also to those who have already contributed to our re-building funds and those who have made pledges of support.”
“We also want to say THANK YOU to ‘Let’s Create’ in Wisconsin Rapids for providing us with space to work on preserving our club scrapbooks and artifacts, as well as ‘Stuff It Storage’ also of Wisconsin Rapids for providing us space to store the items that were recovered from the fire,” she added. “We appreciate all of the community support!”
An account is set up at First State Bank, located at 1710 W Grand Ave, Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495. Checks can be mailed or dropped off at the bank and ear-marked for the Snyder 4-H Rebuilding Fund. A GoFundMe is also established and donations can be made online here: https://gofund.me/c4083cf1
We welcome your stories! Contact us at [email protected]!
Author: News Desk
This piece was posted by our news team! Contact us or submit stories at [email protected].
