TAHS FFA Chapter donates 75 brand-new blankets to ‘Help Tuck Them In’ bed project
Agroup of Tracy Area High School students who have no idea what it’s like to not have a comfortable bed to sleep in have chosen to give back to those less fortunate.
The TAHS FFA Chapter recently purchased 75 5’x6’ soft blankets and have donated them to the “Help Tuck Them In” bed program. The blankets will be part of future deliveries to families in need around the region.
“In the past, we used to make tie blankets, but we were able to find some inexpensive, high-quality blankets at Kohl’s for under $10 a blanket,” FFA advisor Elizabeth Rupp said. “The chapter decides how much they want to spend, and this year we were able to buy 75 blankets.”
“Help Tuck Them In” had already contacted the FFA group to make placards for the beds, but the FFAers took their giving spirit to another level when they reached out to the program, telling them that they had voted to spend money they had raised on the new blankets.
“It was the kids who voted to do this,” said Joel Buyck, director of “Help Tuck Them In.” “This is a feel-good thing, because the kids raised the money, they voted to give this to us. That is huge. These kids understand that they have to help, they have to donate, we have to give forward. This is a good thing.”
The FFA kids have helped out with the bed program before, having joined Amiret Busy Bees members to help sand and stain the wood that is used for the beds. This is the third year the local FFA chapter has donated blankets; they have also given to the Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD.
“They’re great workers,” “Help Tuck Them In” member George Erbes said.
“Us older Lions members have been out there, and it takes a day to do what these kids do in a half day,” added Buyck. “They’ll do two, three boards at a time while we’re doing one.
“Help Tuck Them In” is a 501(C)3 non-profit that started in 2023 with a mission of providing free beds to children in families facing a financial hardship. To date, it has delivered more than 320 beds and over 24 cribs to area homes on the strength of more than 150 volunteers.
