Christmas is still four months away, but Ava Eckhoff did her best to bring some extra cheer and gifts to residents at Willow Creek in late August.
Eckhoff, who is the daughter of Tim and Tether Eckhoff of rural Henning, created gift bags for all of the residents at Willow Creek as part of a community service project. The project was part of an elaborate community service program created by Courtney Wiese as part of the Phillips Scholarship program. As part of the program, several local teenagers completed community service projects this summer and then organized and completed a community service project of their own. The goal of the community service projects was the give back to the community, as well as build a resume that could help the teenagers get a job or future scholarships when they graduate.
For her project, Eckhoff spoke to Denise Menze, who suggested providing residents at Willow Creek a bag full of treats and items for their room.