The love and care invested in one little lamb went a long way recently after young members of a southern Alberta 4-H Club donated proceeds from a sheep auction to support Red Cross humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
“The kids just
love raising money to give back to the community, and they get very involved,” said Chelsea Nieboer, the 4-H Club leader and mother of three members from Turin, a town just north of Lethbridge.
The Turin club chose to donate to the Canadian Red Cross because Ukrainian families have been arriving in the area with their children who now attend local schools, said Nieboer. “The kids wanted to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine because they know families and kids moving here from Ukraine,” she said. “And they really wanted to help out.”
4-H Club is a youth leadership organization that’s been an integral part of Alberta communities since 1917. The Turin club started in 2019 and has about 45 members. There are about 1,800 4-H Clubs across Canada.
The club’s motto is “to learn to do by doing, and we believe kids and young adults benefit very strongly and gain important life skills by taking part in 4-H,” wrote Turin youth member Ella Slomp in a club handout. “It is our duty to participate in community service, highway cleanup, public speaking. It teaches the importance of giving back to the community.”
The idea of raising and selling a “charity lamb” started in 2022, said Neiboer. A local business first donated the lamb, then from April to June last year, one 4-H family agreed to raise and feed the lamb, which was later sold at a local sheep auction. More than 20 generous companies and individuals bid on the “charity lamb” to contribute to the final amount raised for Red Cross, she said. About $55,000 in total was raised and divided between three organizations, including the Red Cross. “The kids just love it. They thought it was so great that we’re doing it again,” she added.
On behalf of Red Cross, Penny Balfour, Manager of Emergency Management for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, accepted the donation. “It was an honour to spend time with these young folks,” Balfour said. “They were all eager to share the result of this lamb auction, but also the many ways their club stays active all season. They conducted themselves as the responsible, caring and contributing leaders described by the 4H mission.”
Thanks to the generosity of people living in Canada who contributed to the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal, the Canadian Red Cross is working closely with Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners to provide critical humanitarian assistance to people who are impacted by the crisis in Ukraine.