We had a very busy meeting with much on the agenda. We had 2 new members and 17 members purchased t-shirts for our upcoming volunteer events. Our group decided to help with several organizations in many different ways! I am so proud of this great group of kids and their parents, they are so caring and willing to help better their community in any way possible.

We will be helping out NOAH's House: "A faith based shelter for life's storms", in Archbold. Our group will be partnering with NOAH's House to provide a birthday committee for those children that are less fortunate and would often times go without a birthday party. We will provide gifts and throw a birthday party at the house as the need arises. Our teens are available for babysitting as needed for parents to look for jobs, go to doctor’s appointments or just for various other needs to be met. Our youth are available to mentor or just hang out with and be a friend to these children in a time of loneliness and need. In the spring, summer and fall we will help plant and tend to their large garden. For more information on The NOAH House visit www.archboldnoahhouse.org.

Tiffany Bates Benefit - 14 year old Tiffany Bates from Fayette was badly burned by the family corn burner when it back drafted in her face in Oct. 2009. St. Casper's Church in Wauseon will be holding a benefit for her and her family on Saturday, March 6th at 6pm. Our chapter will be there helping set up, serve food and with clean up. We will also provide a clown, face painting and crafts for the children. We will be donating baked goods for deserts and items for the auction.

We will be helping out Centennial Therapeutic Riding Center, located outside of Wauseon. Centennial Therapeutic Riding Center provides recreational and therapeutic horseback riding to individuals with physical, mental or emotional needs. Our youth will be cleaning stalls, feeding, watering, and raking the arena and assisting with the grooming of the horses.

We will be seeking donations and trying to raise money to "adopt a bedroom" at The Open Door in Delta. Our goal is to furnish one entire bedroom. Items we will be searching for are a new twin bed and mattress, a dresser, bedding, lamps and alarm clocks. The Open Door will be opening their six bedroom temporary housing, homeless facility in the summer of 2010.

We are currently assisting the Fulton County Humane Society by passing out flyers and helping spread their word. Our involvement will continue as they progress. They are currently in search of 6-8 acres in the Wauseon area for the home of the new Fulton Co. Humane Society. They will be holding their first "community" meeting on Wednesday March 10, 2010 at 6pm at Smith's Restaurant (next to the Wauseon turnpike exit 34). There is no charge to attend but space is limited so please RSVP to fultonhumanesociety@gmail.com or call 888-335-3916 no later than March 5, 2010.

Our official kickoff meeting was held Monday Feb. 8, 2010. It went well and we had 15 youth attending. We are very proud to represent many of the local school districts! We had 2 children representing Fayette schools, 1 from Delta schools, 5 from Evergreen schools, 1 from Pettisville schools and the rest of the group represented Wauseon schools! We talked about various ways we can help the community, ways to raise money and ways we can partner with other organizations. We decided our first project will be to help out at a benefit for Tiffany Bates. She is a 14 year old girl from Fayette, Ohio who was badly burned by a corn burner in Oct. 2009. On March 6, 2010 at 6pm, St. Casper's Church in Wauseon will be holding a benefit for her and her family to help with the medical expenses. Our youth chapter will help with the dinner and clean up and in any other ways needed.

During our meeting, our youth began writing letters to the children from St. Jude's Ranch in Nevada for our new pen pal program. They are very excited to get letters back from their pen pals so they can help and encourage them through peer to peer mentoring! We have 16 letters to send to their organization! Great job guys!

You should be hearing more about our chapter in the local newspapers. Logan Rogers and Mariah Baker are teaming up to report in the Delta Atlas, Taylor Caudill will be reporting in the Archbold Buckeye, Amanda Baker will be reporting to Wauseon Expositor, The Key and Swanton Enterprise, Sarah Pilbeam will be reporting to The Advanced Reporter and The State Line News and Abby Pennington is looking into the Evergreen community paper.

NEXT MEETING: Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010 from 10am-11:30am at the Tedrow Methodist Church - Tedrow Methodist Church 17699 County Road J.

                                     BRING YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!!!