By Vanessa Selle
November 2021; Photo credit club member.
MIDLAND, MI – Midland’s Horse Tales 4-H club has made a tradition of giving, partnered with the Waskevich subdivision in Midland.
Marge Neeb, the organizer of the 4-H group Horse Tales, focuses on community projects and events in her club.
Every year since 2008, Neeb and both sections of her club have been going to the Waskevich subdivision in Midland to pick up toys to deliver to the Salvation Army. It’s their own bona fide “toys for tots” operation. The kids in the club walk to each house in the subdivision to hand out a flyer asking if the families would like to donate and a small flag. Two weeks later, the club returns to the subdivision, and anyone with the flag and the end of their driveway has toys to donate.
When the kids go through to collect the toys, some ride horses, some walk dogs or goats, and others just walk with carts or bags to carry the toys in. A former club member brings their Clydesdales and a wagon to put the toys in as more are donated. It becomes a community day, with kids and adults taking pictures with the Clydesdales and residents interacting with the club members and animals. A resident who owns Bone Daddy’s restaurant even fed the whole group an excellent lunch for a couple of years before COVID-19.
horse trailer to take them to the Salvation Army.
November 2021; Photo credit club member.
In the last two years, the neighborhood has supplied over 400 toys in good condition for the club to collect and donate to the Salvation Army in Midland.
Club parent and active volunteer Stacey Gasiciel have been involved in Horse Tales for about four years with her daughter Tess Gasiciel. Tess is currently a sophomore in high school and vice president of the 4-H club.
They comment that the group is received with pleasure and excitement in the Waskevich neighborhood every year, and the toys for tots event is a community favorite.
“Many residents look forward to seeing us with horses and carriages,” Stacey says. The kids look forward to the toy pickup and love seeing and taking pictures with the horses.
the subdivision, November 2021; Photo credit club member.
Gasiciel says her favorite part of the event as a parent is watching the kids giving back to the community in a fun way. “It is wonderful seeing people so happy to be part of the process,” she says. “The last couple of years have been hard due to COVID,” Gasiciel says. The club usually participates in various community projects throughout the year, such as volunteering at a community garden, attending assisted living homes, and adopting a family to supply meals and gifts for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Neeb’s involvement in 4-H began when she worked as a pediatric nurse and took part as a camp nurse at Camp Neyatti for 48 years. Neeb started the Horse Tales club in 2000 with two other leaders and six kids. Though she has been the only leader for about 15 years, some parents are volunteers and help organize and manage events. The club has two parts; Clover Buds, ages 5-8, and the regular club, ages 9-18. There are 43 members total in Horse Tales.
The group started as a horse club but has expanded to include swine, rabbits, turkeys, sheep, dogs, cats, and goats, along with several crafts and community projects. In 2010, three youths entered a statewide contest at Michigan State University for community service and came second in the state. Neeb emphasizes community service in her club to teach kids to care about their community and the people who live in it.
“Kids have been my focus for years,” says Neeb.
