Acton C.R.A.F.T. 4-H Club Recycles for Community Service

Local recycling helps the environment, but for Acton 4-H’ers, it also propels community service! For seven years, the Acton C.R.A.F.T. 4-H Club has been recycling personal products like toothbrushes to fund their successful community service projects. Since 2019, the 4-H’ers have recycled a whopping 2,064 pounds of items, raising $1,370 for community service work.

The project began when Club Co-Leader Margaret Gibbs learned she could salvage products like toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and hair dryers through a company called TerraCycle. TerraCycle gives points for cash according to the number of pounds recycled. “I thought it was a really cool idea,” Margaret said.

Margaret started the recycling initiative by speaking with town officials, the local library, and the school district to generate interest. She then had recycling receptacles placed at Donelan’s Supermarkets in Acton and Littleton, the Reuben Hoar Library in Littleton, and the town transfer station. The club’s proceeds from recycling go toward community service projects and eliminate the need for a specific club fee for each youth.

For several years, the club did food drives at supermarkets in support of local food pantries. Rachel Shirron, another club co-leader, explained that they had the food drive process down to a science. “As people walked in [to the market], they were given a list of what the food pantry wants,” explained Rachel. “Then, they delivered the goods on the way out.” These drives raised 600-800 pounds of food per store four times each year.

Club members have donated tied fleece blankets to the homeless, written letters to frontline workers during the COVID years, and made bracelets for military members. The club has also made meals for those in need. Last year, the club gathered plastic Easter eggs -to the tune of 20 dozen – and filled them with candy to give to their neighbors. This year, they plan to fill plastic eggs again but deliver them to food pantries.

Elaine Shirron has led the club for 30 years. Its membership has varied from three to twelve 4-H’ers, with a current size of three . The club’s small size makes its achievements even more impressive.

The Acton C.R.A.F.T. 4-H Club meets every week, focusing on community service.  “Every single 4-H’er needs to do a community service project. Then they can do other projects,” explained Elaine. Other projects center around leadership skills and Visual Presentations. Most recently, club members have been learning the ukelele!

While the 4-H’ers have learned how to make dinners and run a sewing machine, the true lessons they have gleaned from their projects are about people. By working successfully with others and giving to those less fortunate, the Acton C.R.A.F.T. 4-H Club truly embodies the words “community service.”