The Mary Cariola Busy Bees 4-H Club was recognized by the Monroe County Legislature for their longstanding commitment to the community and learning and growing through 4-H. Kathy Lee, 4-H Leader, and DeAshaney Holloway, 4-H member, attended to receive the certificate on behalf of the club.
Kathy Lee’s classroom at Mary Cariola Center is where youth become Busy Bees. The Busy Bees, an incredibly unique and hard working 4-H Club was founded by Kathy soon after she began teaching. This was a way for Kathy to engage her students challenged with physical and intellectual disabilities as well as complex medical needs.
The Busy Bees, a classroom of vibrant and eager 16 to 21-year-olds, reinforce the 4-H foundation that every child has valuable strengths and real influence to improve the world around us. And, the Busy Bees have been busy for 30 years.
As part of the Monroe County 4-H Youth Development program, the Busy Bees create a buzz with every project they get involved with. The students love to make quilts. Kathy connects adaptive switches to sewing machines so her students can provide power while a staff member guides the needle. One student selects fabric colors while another helps stamp the Cariola logo onto their creation. Their quilts have won ribbons at the Monroe County and New York State Fairs. They share their talents within the school as well, sewing curtains for other classrooms, donating quilts to Agency fundraisers, and even making a coat for one of the Agency’s therapy dogs.
The Busy Bees 4-H Club is supported by Monroe County 4-H Youth Development on a regular basis – participating in Arbor Day, learning how to grow mushrooms, art projects, how to plant a garden, and most recently the Busy Bees participated in the 4-H Public Presentations – explaining and discussing topics that are important to each individual student. Most students used a communication device to present, some played music on a keyboard…all were engaged, excited, and eager to tell others about their world. Next month, they will learn how to make a tabletop greenhouse and learn how to make cheese. The busier they are, the better.
Another Busy Bee motto is that if you receive, you need to give back. The Busy Bees routinely contribute to the community – making holiday gifts for senior citizens at St. Johns Home, baking treats for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House, making blankets for the Wounded Warrior Project, holding pajama drives to support children impacted at Willow Domestic Violence Center, and helping fund international causes to fight hunger like Sustainable Harvest and Flock of Ducks.
There are hundreds of Busy Bee alumni and current students who have embraced the attitude that everyone has abilities. The Busy Bees are an inspiration to all of us for their creativity, their tenacity, and their ability to make learning fun. They are living the 4-H belief of #Opportunity4All.
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