MONTANA — Newly elected state officers for SkillsUSA of Montana gathered in Helena for training and projects that will support our communities.
These high schoolers (pictured above) are familiar with working on projects. They all have skills in technical and trade careers, but they’ve decided to put down their gloves for a project that will serve their Montana communities.
"We are creating blankets and then we're donating those to the rescue mission," says Macie Vinaras, SkillsUSA of Montana Vice President and a junior at Great Falls High School.
"And then, we’re making bags for people who serve as firefighters, peace officers, and such. We are taking care of them by giving little baggies to them with hand sanitizer, masks, stuff like that,” says Madison Elliott, SkillsUSA of Montana Secretary and a junior at Plains High School.
Along with the Rescue Mission in Great Falls, nine blankets will also be donated to God's Love in Helena. Then, each student will take three kits to their own community to be donated to first responders. These high school students come from communities such as: Butte, Great Falls, Helena, and Plains.
"It's nice to learn and see how people's lives are affected when you give back to the community that helped you get to where you are," says Caiden Back, SkillsUSA of Montana Parliamentarian and a junior at Great Falls High School.
Where these students are now are newly-elected state officers for SkillsUSA of Montana. This is the first time the officers met in-person, and already, they are challenged with transforming their annual conference into a virtual event. However firstly, they wish to inspire local chapters to engage in the communities, especially during the pandemic.
“With everything being virtual and online, you don't get to see a lot of people, but the people in need are still out there,” says Wes Bruski, the President of the team and a senior at Capital High School. “As our state officer team is doing these two main community projects, I hope that our officers can go back to their own chapters and start more community service projects as well as around the state."
