Through the Grapevine

The Return of Coats for Kids

After two years of not being able to distribute warm items such as coats, jackets, sweaters, and sweatshirts directly to some of our North County families in need, Coats for Kids is again partnering with Toy Bank of Greater Paso Robles on the “Day of Giving.”

Coats for Kids is an annual event that has been ongoing for 34 warm, wonderful years. Every year, volunteers gather, sort, and distribute new and gently used coats of all sizes, giving warmth to families in need across the Central Coast at absolutely no cost to them. The volunteers work with multiple local businesses and charities to serve over 750 families.

This year, Coats for Kids will be joining the Toy Bank of Greater Paso Robles in one of the commercial buildings at the Paso Robles Event Center and will also be joined there by the Salvation Army.

This year’s “Day of Giving” will take place on Saturday, December 10. This will only be the only distribution day for Coats for Kids this year, but they plan to cover North County as they always have. Dates and times of distribution will be determined through the Toy Bank's online registration.

The Rotary Club of Paso Robles has joined the Coats for Kids 2022 team and will be distributing collection boxes in November to some of the businesses in the Paso Robles area. They will have boxes in other North County communities to make it convenient for those who want to donate a new or gently used item. Drop off locations will be available on coatsforkidsslocounty.org.

Our North County cleaners, Plaza Cleaners in Atascadero and Paso Robles and Fashion Cleaners in Atascadero, are also drop-off locations for items needing cleaning or refreshing. They will clean them free of charge. Just drop them off, say “Coats for Kids,” and a committee member will pick them up.

For more information, contact Coats for Kids Chairman Barbie Butz at (805) 461-1234.

20th Annual Great AgVenture Educates Local Fourth Graders

Fourth-graders around the county learned about agriculture at the 20th Annual Great AgVenture on Tuesday, October 11, at the Paso Robles Event Center.

Hosted by the San Luis Obispo County Agricultural Education Committee and the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust, the agricultural field day offers a variety of agricultural lessons as they move from station to station, listening and interacting with local agriculture professionals representing animals, plants, science, farm machinery and an “Ag-tivity.”

“Redwings was excited to participate in the SLO County Great AGventure,” said Redwings Equine Care Manager Sara Ruggerone. “Educational outreach is part of our overall mission and we love working with elementary school groups. It was a great time and we look forward to doing it next year.”

About 45 agricultural organizations

participated in this year’s educational event. Redwings hosted five classes of students at their station. They welcomed classes from Gabriel Elementary School in Atascadero and Vineyard Elementary School in Templeton.

The students started with a brief presentation about what a horse sanctuary is and then were then able to experience an interactive station with saddles, halters, and grooming supplies. The favorite portion of the event was seeing and petting the horses up close. Redwings brought along three horses for the students — Primo, Little Bit, and Buck, a recently retired military patrol horse from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Other presentations included activities like butter making, owl pellet discovery, learning about soils, horsepower, apple grafting, water resources, strawberries, horses, weather, farm machinery, and Cal Poly’s Tractor Pull.

Paso Robles FFA Ranked Fifth in State

FFA members from Shandon to San Luis Obispo competed in the 2022 Opening and Closing Competition hosted by Paso Robles High School on Wednesday, October 5.

Seven local FFA chapters came to Paso Robles High School to compete in the contest. Paso Robles FFA won first overall in Advanced Open team and second in high Novice team, with top advanced President Kylie Stroud, top advanced Secretary Ashley Skove, top novice President Reese Theisen, top novice Vice President Allie Kemp, top advanced Reporter Priscilla Utter, and top novice Secretary Reese Raymond.

The Opening and Closing contest is a mock-up of the traditional opening and closing ceremonies performed by chapter FFA officers at each meeting. Each team consists of one person representing each officer — president, vice president, sentinel, vice president, reporter, treasurer, secretary, and adviser. "We are extremely proud of them. They came into 7:30 a.m. practices every day before the competition," said PRHS FFA Adviser and Teacher Matt Vierra. "They worked hard. We had a lot of success all the way across the board."

October has been a busy yet successful month for the Paso Robles FFA chapter.

Earlier this month, agriculture advisers attended the California Agriculture Teachers Association (CATA) regional meeting in Hollister, where the Paso Robles agriculture department was awarded fifth place in the entire state.

This award is based on merits of success in SAE projects/prophecies, State/American degrees, and participation beyond the classroom. There are around 338 active FFA chapters in California.

Proud of his students, Vierra said, "We have a pathway for every single student. They can pursue many different types of careers in agriculture. We offer a good amount of opportunities not only in our career fields but in professional development, and the students see that, and now the state of California sees that."

It is also that time of year again for Paso Robles FFA's favorite fundraiser. The chapter is teaming up with Negranti Creamery selling ice cream pies. You can order your pie online and select to support Paso Robles FFA. You can then pick up your pies at Negranti Creamery just before your holiday gathering.

You can order your pie and support Paso Robles FFA at negranticreamery.com.

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