Georgia Magazine - February 2018 - 9

ophia Rodriguez's 4-H project
was close to home for the Liberty
County high school senior.
After her dad was diagnosed with
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
while serving in the military, Rodriguez, a fifth-year 4-H member and
former Georgia 4-H State Board vice
president, wanted to create a support
system for military kids like her.
"Different people go through
different things, regardless of severity, and I wanted to create a support
system to show the validity of their
feelings," Rodriguez says.
She created Tie-Dye for Troops,
a youth program in Liberty County,
where most of the 4-H members' parents serve at Fort Stewart Army Base.
In the program, Rodriguez and
fellow 4-H leaders visit the base's
School Age Centers, where they
teach children lessons on the importance of feelings, color and creativity.
"We begin with asking kids simple questions they can easily answer,
such as, 'Do you like the color green?'
And they tell us whether or not they
do and why," she says. "Then we

transition into a lesson on why it's
OK to feel or think certain ways."
One of the activities Rodriguez
started was tie-dying pillowcases. She
explains that colors can get messy
and chaotic, but with time and patience they can make something
beautiful.
"I tell the students to squeeze
their pillow whenever they feel
alone," Rodriguez says. "Because we
made them together, I wanted it to
serve as a reminder that we're always
there for them and that their feelings
matter."
Rodriguez talks about her project
at national conferences and workshops so that other military kids
across the country can benefit from it.
"While getting to share about my
project has been awesome, the most
rewarding part is getting to actually
teach the lesson with military kids,"
she says. "I know exactly what it is
like for these kids; some days it can
just be really hard. I hope my project is fun and exciting but that it also
leaves them with something tangible
to remember to always be positive

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UGA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Liberty County 4-H student uses outreach project
to help military children

Liberty County high school student Sophia
Rodriguez created the Tie-Dye for Troops
program, which encourages children of
military personnel to look after their mental
health and seek help when needed.

and have hope."
Rodriguez is also a member of
Georgia 4-H's performing arts group
Clovers and Company, a military ambassador and a Health Rocks! ambassador. She also participates in land
judging, forestry judging and poultry
judging. Rodriguez plans to attend
the University of Georgia in Athens
after she graduates from high school
in the spring.
-Julie Jernigan

TARGET
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A timeless classic
: cast-iron cookw
are, page 38

February 2018

Tubman
Museum

Celebrating
African-Ameri
can
history and cultureart,

1) A lineman from which Georgia electric cooperative co-founded an
organization that helps veterans return to civilian life?
2) Pat Leonard says that counting birds for only how many minutes
will help Cornell University's research efforts?
3) How many different Berry College T-shirts did Leslie Ratliff find in
her son's laundry?
4) Teenager Sophia Rodriguez created an outreach program for children whose parents are in the military. What's the program called?
5) The initial camellia in the "First Lady Collection" series was named
after which Georgia first lady?

February 2018

More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

page 24

The Great Backya
rd
Bird Count

page 16
www.georgiamaga

zine.org

How to enter:

Jimmy Carter 's
Sunday school class

page 20

Send an email to magazine@georgia
emc.com with the answers to all five questions by Feb. 28, 2018. Be sure to include
your name, address and phone number.
(If more than one person answers all
the questions correctly, we'll draw from
among all correct answers to determine
the $25 Target gift card winner.)

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - February 2018