Generosity is shown in many ways however when tragedy happens 4-H steps forward. Pleasant View 4-H club in Iowa County stepped up in January when the community of Mineral Point was shaken. Two volunteer firefighters died while responding to a call. Local firefighters, EMS crews, and their families were allowed a bit of time to heal with the generous support of other departments from all over Wisconsin. Forty-seven departments traveled to Mineral Point in shifts, leaving their families and work, to cover emergency calls. Pleasant View 4-H Club, whose members are from the Mineral Point area, decided these individuals needed to be flooded with thank you notes!

A Facebook post asked families, schools, other 4-H clubs to sign up for a department and create a thank you note. Pleasant View 4-H offered to mail if needed. Within days all the departments had a least one thank you note. The response was so overwhelming, the 4-H club opened slots for a second, third and fourth note. The power of an idea from 42 Pleasant View 4-H club members has touched many families in Wisconsin. The 4-H club asks all 4-H’ers in Wisconsin to show appreciation to their own community emergency crews and consider volunteering if your local community has a high school youth program for emergency responders.