Are you interested in a fun, relaxing Patriot Path session where you can help make an impact globally? Ms. Tarter has been organizing the Mission Crafts Patriot Path as a way for students to assist in creating children crafts for less fortunate families. Each week, students can work on a variety of different crafts while socializing with friends.

“The purpose of the Mission Crafts Patriot Path,” explained Ms. Tarter, “is to provide a service opportunity for students to help make and assemble craft kits for children in San Quintin, Baja California, Mexico. I have been participating in a summer mission trip to San Quintin for the past 16 years and am one of the team leaders for the children’s activities. We will use these craft kits as part of a Vacation Bible School and also to help entertain children outside of a free medical clinic that we offer. The children that we work with are from an extremely impoverished area and really appreciate and enjoy the crafts. I cherish the relationships that I’ve developed with the children there and am blessed to have watched many of them grow into mature young adults.  The sponsoring church is Mayfair Church of Christ in Huntsville, but we always have team members who volunteer from all over the United States. This is the third year of the Missions Crafts Patriot Path and the third year that the students from Bob Jones High have made all of the craft kits for the San Quintin mission trip. I am proud of the work that our students have done and always give credit to Bob Jones whenever people compliment our team on the quality and quantity of the crafts that we provide.” The crafts thoughtfully support those who are less fortunate, and it is a great way for students to volunteer during the school day.

There are a multitude of reasons why Bob Jones students should get involved. Ms. Tarter shared, “The Mission Crafts Patriot Path has had been extremely successful. We have a core group of students who regularly attend this Patriot Path, but we always have a few new volunteers each week. The girls and guys who attend have a heart for serving others and seem to enjoy making simple crafts for those less fortunate. In appreciation for the free labor, I provide cookies and cold bottles of water as refreshments.” Some students also use this time as an opportunity to earn service credits. “Students in the Spanish Honor Society can also earn service hours,” she continued. Fortunately, anyone is capable of contributing, even if you aren’t able to commit to it every week. Ms. Tarter added that “no special skills are required to help make and assemble the crafts. Hopefully it’s a relaxing atmosphere where students can chat while using their time to help others.”

Students in this Patriot Path are able to create easy and fun crafts for children. While they are currently working on making kits for “sunglass cases,” some of the previous crafts include “flashlight necklaces with solar/glow-in-dark beds, paper bag lion puppets, inserts for photo frames, Noah’s ark paper plate crafts, Abraham trioramas, Joseph’s coat crafts, and Paul & Silas lace up cards,” stated Ms. Tarter.

Matthew Do, a senior at Bob Jones, explained, “ I had calculus with Ms. Tarter, and she recommended it to me and my friend.” Another senior, Deborah Sheng, expressed that “this is a worthy cause” as she helped the less fortunate young children.

Anyone interested in contributing to this cause can sign up for Ms. Tarter’s Mission Crafts Patriot Path each Wednesday. She plans on continuing these Mission Crafts each July that she travels to San Quintin, and students should definitely get involved and contribute to this excellent cause.