COLLINSVILLE, Ohio – Beverly Foutz won first place in the Ohio and third in the nation for her Community Service scrapbook of Collinsville Grange activities. She is the community service chairperson the Grange. The scrapbook is a compilation of the community service projects the Grange did.

“I come up with a lot of activities, but others also say, ‘I think this would fit our Grange,’” Foutz said. “We’ve done lots of different things. We try to piggyback and help other organizations with what they’re doing. Sometimes you can do a greater good when you combine your efforts.

“I don’t do it so much for presenting it to the state Grange Convention, but it’s a historical document for those who come after us,” she said.

About 30 of the 36 members were involved in the projects, she explained. They estimated that 1,000 volunteer hours were involved. They got the news of their accomplishments out to about 75,000 people through social and local media.

The almost 103-years-old Collinsville Grange has had a Butler County Fair Booth for years but they strive to change things up each year. In 2022, they had a QR code on a stand in the booth. Visitors could hold their phone up to it and hear a brief explanation of what the Grange is; many fairgoers have never heard of it.

Members of the Collinsville Grange regularly donate blood, they collect eyeglasses and cases and donate them to Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity (VOSH) International. They collect hats, scarves and gloves to donate to the school for the deaf in Columbus.

“Those are things we have always done,” Foutz said.

In 2022, they had a dance in conjunction with Butler County Farm Bureau. Both organizations picked a recipient for the profits they would share. Grange picked 99 for The 1, a street outreach ministry.

“We also have a sewing project,” Foutz said. “We made two fleece blankets for a couple of our older members who don’t get out much but they still support us and pay their dues.

They also collect socks – old or new for Thread Up in Oxford. Their goal is eliminating textile waste from landfills. Thread Up makes the socks into dog toys. Finally, the Grange also makes birthday packages for families and donates them to the Open Hands Food Pantry.

“Every child deserves a card and a birthday cake with sprinkles,” Foutz said.

The Grange is a family community organization with its roots in agriculture, said Mike Russell, president of the Ohio State Grange. Founded in 1867, it was formed as a national organization with a local focus. The foundation of the organization is the Community Grange, which can be found in rural, suburban and urban communities.

“Each Grange does different community service projects,” Russell said. “At the end of the year they make a record (of them) with material that relates to the projects they did over the year. Those are all compiled into a book and displayed at the state Grange convention which is held in October in Dublin. They are judged and then the awards are given out.”

Each year, the first-place winner from each state gets sent to the National Grange Convention held in November in Sparks, Nev. The judges look for what community projects did the most good, and how they presented.