The Elkhorn Resilience Coalition has planned a service organization fair for middle school students on Feb. 24 to help expose them to the numerous organizations that work to better the community in the Walworth County area.
Elkhorn Area School District Community Resilience Outreach Coordinator Senta Holmes said the coalition reached out to a large number of non-profit organizations and has about 35 organizations set to participate.
Holmes said they also reached out to several civic organizations, such as the Rotary Club and United Way, which are also set to join the service fair.
Holmes said the first round of seventh graders will enter the service fair – where organizations will have tables or booths setup to share information about the non-profit – with the eighth graders to follow later that day.
She said they’ve created a Bingo card to help get students engaged with the non-profits and to hopefully help them learn more about the various organizations within the community.
According to Holmes, it’s not just about teaching students about the non-profit organizations in their area – it’s also about teaching students about giving back to their community.
“We’re really excited about it,” she said. “We wanted to get the middle schoolers before they went into high school so they understand that while you’re going toward a career and you need an income, it’s also important to know about giving back and what it does for you. And maybe you’ll even find a career in this.”
Holmes said she also hopes that learning about these different service organizations might better equip students to direct friends and fellow students toward these types of resources in times of need.
“Their friend Jimmy may need some resources, and now they’ll know that they could be available to them and that’s ok,” she said. “All of us I feel have had a time in our lives that we’ve needed help and it’s ok to ask for help and it’s ok to use these resources that are here.”
However, Holmes also noted it’s a great opportunity for non-profit organizations to learn about each other as well, along with the resources they offer to the community.
For example, Holmes noted the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane and Walworth County recently worked together because they have an overabundance of P95 masks, sending their surplus out to a number of non-profit agencies such as food pantries, libraries and more through the United Way.
“And it’s all because of networking and working together,” she said. “It’s all uniting everybody because we have one purpose of being healthy, not only physically but mentally, in this community to be a stronger community, and I think that is what this is doing.”
Hope Week
In addition, the Elkhorn High School Hope Squad will be raising funds for a special resource section at Matheson Memorial Library during its upcoming Hope Week, Feb. 14-17.
A peer to peer suicide prevention program in the schools, the Hope Squad will be hanging posters, decorating windows, providing positive affirmations and more.
As such, Holmes said they’re reaching out in hopes that community members might be willing to donate some of the needed supplies or general resources to help the Hope Squads in their missions to share what Hope Squad is all about.
In addition, Holmes noted that Hope Squad loves to fundraise, and as such, the high school will be placing out jars for students and faculty to drop their change. The fundraiser will also be a bit of a competition, with the winners’ prize yet to be determined.
However, Holmes said the important part is that the Hope Squad wants to take that money and give it back to the community.
With students looking to give back to Matheson Memorial Library, Holmes said she reached out to Library Director Chad Robinson to see if there might be a possibility of setting up a special resource section designated to resources on mental health and mental health services in the area.
Holmes said that Robinson was receptive to the idea, noting that he said no matter what, they could work together to find something that will help accomplish the student group’s goals.
“These kids really want to make things better outside in our community, not just within the walls of their school, and this is a great way that they’re showing that,” she said.
Holmes said she also had to provide some recognition for the Hope Squad advisors, noting that while they guide the students, they don’t give them ideas, meaning the students are really the ones leading the charge in all of these efforts.
On a related note, Holmes also noted that Walworth County Health and Human Services will now be offering QPR (Question, Persuade and Refer) trainings to members of the public, taking the mission of the Hope Squad out into the community as well.
