The Farr West chapter of Modern Woodmen of America chose April 18th as its plant-a-tree day. For the event, they donated $800 worth of trees to be planted at Farr West Elementary. Volunteers from the group helped dig holes, add soil, plant the trees, and water them. The organization has donated trees in the past to Farr West Elementary as well as Fremont High School.
Modern Woodmen of America is a nonprofit organization that enjoys giving back to the community. There are 2,279 members in Utah, according to their website. They also help out with financial services such as life insurance, health insurance, and retirement plans. All of their agents help volunteer their time and service during community projects such as the plant a tree day and youth service clubs. Modern Woodmen have several chapters in Utah, including ones in Roy, Syracuse, and Farr West.
Jon Ostler, who’s been the representative of the Farr West chapter for a year, said how the organization enjoys giving back to the community. He talked about how they set aside money to give out to the community every year. Besides the plant-a-tree day, Modern Woodmen also holds other events for the community, such as offering different free educational materials for teachers to help add to what they already teach. They also hold socials for their members. One recent social was held at Fruity Cakes, located at 2707 North 1600 West in Pleasant View. Members were given a discount off the menu and had fun getting to know each other better. They’ve also donated money to Farr West Elementary in the past to help them buy a new playground set, as well as holding a fund raiser for Kennedy Hansen, who’s been battling Juvenile Batten disease.
It was a lot of fun watching all the families have a good time interacting with each other while planting the trees. Even the kids were able to help out digging holes (and finding worms). Projects like this and others are a great way to not only give back to the communities, but also help children see how much fun service can be. Jon said Modern Woodmen is an organization that loves to “give, give, give” and hopes to be able to continue planting trees at different schools. “It’s not about recognition but being able to give back to the community.”
For more information on how to help volunteer with the organization or to find out more about the services they offer, go to http://www.modern-woodmen.org or contact Jon Ostler at 801-745-7377.
