He is committed to making an impact on the community through volunteering
By LINDA ANN McDONALD
Correspondent
Unpaid volunteers are often the glue that holds a community together. Volunteering allows you to connect to your community and make it a better place.
Even helping with the smallest tasks can make a real difference to the lives of people, animals, and organizations in need. The best-known impact of volunteering is the impact on the community.
Lewis McCartha is not just a volunteer in the community of Wakulla County, he is a volunteer with an agenda, a motive, a strong personal desire to make a difference in the lives of the residents of Wakulla County, especially the children.
“In 2014, I got involved in Cub Scouts Pack 5, Crawfordville for 5 years and I was Den Leader for 3 years, I am a strong believer in community involvement and I want to make a difference in the county and I wanted to do it along side my kids,” he says.
“I want my kids to be productive and to be a valued member of the community, through volunteering I can teach my kids the importance of community involvement, be the role model they need to see and I can be the same role model for other kids in the community at the same time,” McCartha says.
“I want to be the image I want to project to my children and that is to be helpful, responsible, strong work ethic.”
McCartha is currently involved in Wakulla County/UF IFAS 4H Clubs such as home economics, life value skills including leadership, cooking club, sewing club, communication club, archery and shotgun marksmanship, chicken chain and community service project clubs.
“I wanted to provide children with more programs,” he says. “Too many kids are running around without supervision because parents are working, they are left alone and to their own decisions; being active in the 4H clubs will teach kids to be self-supporting, self-sufficient and financially independent.”
“I wish to see more frequent meetings with the 4H kids, we need more volunteers to make this happen.”
Volunteering promotes community engagement. By actively participating in volunteer activities, individuals become more connected to their communities.
“I am always wanting to do something bigger, so everyone sees me actively volunteering… but no one hears me; so the more I am present and active in the community, the louder my voice is heard,” McCartha says.
“You can’t say you want change in your community and not be a part of it!”
The Wakulla County Senior Citizens Dash into the ‘50s Senior Prom was a 4H service project hosted by McCartha and Co-Adult leader Amanda Gruebel held on St. Valentine’s Day at the Wakulla County Senior Center.
“So much time and planning has been invested by these kids for this event, 16 weeks of meeting lasting an hour to 3 hours, hundreds of hours have gone into this, the kids have proven their dedication and paid their due diligence, they gave up their nights and weekends to make this event happen for the seniors,” he says. “We worked Wakulla’s Small Business Saturdays to raise funds and we raised a little over $2,100. We wanted to raise $3,500, so instead we cut corners and scaled back some; we saw the community come out and help and we really appreciated it.”
Volunteering is a powerful force that can transform communities and create positive change.
McCartha indicated he also has plans to run for local political office in the future.
McCartha moved to Wakulla County from Vero Beach in 2007 and has a son Cayle Rogers and a daughter Vanessa Elderkin, both whom are 16 years old.
Currently, Cayle is a Wakulla Fire Cadet and part of the Sheriff’s Explorer group and Vanessa is County President and District President for 4H and was active in ROTC in high school. McCartha is a volunteer parent with ROTC for his second year as well.
