CONGRATULATIONS to the YAPO Wolverines 4-H Club!

The Oakland Press (theoaklandpress.com), Serving Oakland County

Pontiac seniors get a 4-H Christmas

Sunday, December 21, 2008 12:25 AM EST
By ANN ZANIEWSKIOf The Oakland Press

Residents of the McDonald Senior Apartments tapped their feet and sang along Saturday as a group of angel-faced children belted out Christmas songs.

The children, who belong to the United Nations 4-H Club in Pontiac, also passed out goodie bags and cake as part of an effort to spread a little holiday cheer.“I like that we get to sing for the people who live here,” said 10-year-old Mary Wright of Pontiac. “It’s community service.”

While most people connect 4-H Clubs with farm kids and livestock competitions, the United Nations 4-H Club is for children living in the city.

The group, based out of Whitman Elementary School in Pontiac, has 40 members who range in age from 4-12.

Sharon Cornell, a former teacher and a Pontiac resident, is the leader of the club and of the Yapo Wolverines 4-H Club, which is also based in Pontiac.

The clubs are affiliated with Michigan State University’s 4-H program.Children who are members take field trips to museums, pumpkin patches and Detroit Tigers baseball games.

They also are involved in community service projects, such as a recent canned food drive that netted 800 cans and Saturday’s Christmas concert at the McDonald Senior Apartments on Baldwin Avenue.“The kids need to get out. They need to know that there are other people who need help,” Cornell said.

On Saturday, a group of children and Cornell’s husband, David, gathered in front of a community room with song books. They sang songs such as “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” to an audience of about 20 people.“It’s great. The kids are all good. Beautiful!,” said a smiling Alberta Stamps, who lives at the facility.

After the concert, the children passed out cake and goodie bags stuffed with cookies, candy and other items purchased with donated gift cards from Meijer and Target.“I’ll hang it on my door,” Stamps said, after a child handed her a piece of cardboard painted in rainbow colors that said, “Happy Holidays.”Laticia Greer, 6, doled out goodie bags and cake wearing a Santa hat.“I was a little bit nervous” about singing, she said. “The best one was ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.’”

McDonald residents Lillian Blackwell, Helena Witherspoon and Anniebell Cowart all said they enjoyed the children’s company.“

It was really nice, just being around the kids, seeing the kids sing,” Blackwell said. “This kind of cheered me up.”

Contact staff writer Ann Zaniewski at (248) 745-4628 or ann.zaniewski@oakpress.com.