Revolution of responsibility

Unidentified members of the Floyd Venturer 4-H?Club in Sioux County select books from the Hospers Public Library. Each week, club members swap books with the library and the Iowa Dialysis Center in Hospers as a community service project.
HOSPERS – One 4-H club’s hands full of books project started a revolution in Hospers.
Exchanging library books at the Northwest Iowa Dialysis Center with the Hospers Public Library keeps the Floyd Venturer 4-H club’s hands busy loading and unloading shelves and bags of books every month.
A relatively small amount of time for the club offers a patient or a caretaker a large amount of time to read a book, learn something new or just escape into pages of fiction while they wait several hours for dialysis treatments to be done.
The cost is little, the benefit tremendous and the responsibility real.
“Many of our patients’ family members like being near their loved ones while they receive treatment,” said Nicci Kliegl, administrator at the dialysis center, “so they sit for five hours in our waiting area.
“The books give them something to do.”
Kliegl sees having the books at the center as a customer service tool, and she appreciates the selection and variety.
Hope Kreykes, Hospers librarian, appreciates the club members for taking on the community service project.
Because she is the only library employee, she said she’d have to close the library while she exchanged the books.
“Not only does it provide an outreach to the larger Northwest Iowa community, it brings people to the library who are waiting for a patient at the dialysis center.”
Family members, friends and bus drivers have recognized that there is a library because of the books at the center, and many of them spend time at the library reading and using the computers while they wait.
“It’s great to help people,” said Cari Klein, Floyd Venturer club member. “It’s cool that I can do something for someone else.”
Even the youngest club member can help carry the bags of books and pull books off the shelves, and the kids enjoy doing the project with their club friends.
Being involved in the community beyond their club meetings, the kids are making a difference in their own lives, in the resourcefulness of the community and in the lives of people from surrounding communities.
Who knew responsibility could be so much fun?
Join the revolution
4-H is available to anyone in grades 4 through 12.
There are clubs in each community and special interest clubs for youth interested in archery, air rifle, horses and dogs.
There really is something for everyone in 4-H.
For information about Sioux County 4-H, contact Cindy Cleveringa, 4-H County Youth Coordinator, at the Sioux County Extension Office in Orange City at (712) 737-4230 or by email at clever@iastate.edu.
Check out the 4-H web page at www.extension.iastate.edu/sioux/kidsteens.htm or become a Facebook friend of Sioux County 4-H.