Workforce Happenings

The month of November brings a sense of gratitude, thankfulness, and giving in large part due to the Thanksgiving holiday associated with the month. Thanks to Mrs. Brooke Mason, her Hobbies class at Duncanville Middle School made up of 24, 7^th and 8^th graders wanted to do their part by creating something that mattered.

“When tasked with teaching Hobbies, I knew that I wanted to get the students involved in trying tasks that they may not normally try in hopes that they might find something that could become a hobby. I also wanted to do a project that involved helping others as sometimes self-care can include helping someone in need. I came up with this idea because I wanted to get the students involved in creating a project that didn't include staring at technology while also connecting with their community,” said Mason.

Mason said after getting students on board with the idea of blankets, she decided to reach out to their Adopt-a-School sponsor, The Legacy Connection who were excited about being involved and to help purchase the fleece needed for the project. She said the students spent about a week and a half making a total of six blankets. The students worked together in teams to create about one blanket for every group of four. 

November 18^th, 2021, the class donated the blankets to United Way of West Alabama so that they can give them to organizations in the community like Salvation Army and Temporary Emergency Services. But this won’t be the classes last time creating blankets for the community. “Our next project is creating about fifteen more blankets with the help of Valley View Baptist Church,” said Mason.

She had this to say about the work ethic and creativity of her classroom students, “I am very proud of my students for stepping up and doing this project. I was pleasantly surprised to see the pride that my students took in their blanket. I hope that this project will not only teach them the skill of how to make the blankets but also inspire the students to continue to find ways that they can help their community even at their age and into the future.”

The next project for the Hobbies class will be how to learn how to create balloon animals.