The Mount Pleasant High School Construction Technology program recently built and donated two picnic tables to the Hooves and Halos program, an annual playday in Winnsboro for special needs students and adults. After attending with his students the last few years, MPHS Life Skills teacher, James Townsend, saw a need for more outdoor seating and approached MPHS Construction teacher, Jim Alston, with the idea of having his students build and donate a picnic table. Townsend provided the funds for one table, but the students ended up building both an adult sized and a child sized table, with plans to build a third one that will be wheelchair accessible.

Hooves and Halos has been in operation since the spring of 2014. The first event began with only about 15 children and has grown exponentially since. It has operated at multiple venues including a small church arena in Winnsboro, the Mount Pleasant Civic Center Ag Pavilion, and back to Winnsboro at the City Park and Rodeo Arena. But after the pandemic shutdown, a new plan was hatched to move it to the Winnsboro home and ranch of the Hooves and Halos creators, Johnny and Johnette Poole.

The event includes hayrides, a mechanical bull, games and activities, a playground, horseback riding, a petting zoo and Longhorns, and more. Guests are served hamburgers and hot dogs, with volunteers serving around 200 people every 30 minutes. Participants receive a free t-shirt and make a trip into the mercantile to pick out a stuffed animal, Bible, and book.

The event is completely free, funded solely on donations. “Everything that we do, everything that we give, everything that we are, is made possible by someone’s generosity,” said Poole. “We operate solely on donations of time, supplies, love, and money of course. We have no big corporate sponsors. We have Mamas and Grandmas

that make cookies and desserts. Small churches donate most of the Bibles, books, and DVD’s. Stuffed animals are collected all year long by precious volunteers from thrift shops, dollar stores and anywhere that they can find them. Most of the food is donated by businesses, individuals, and a few of the guest’s group homes.” Over the years, donations have even funded accessible restroom facilities including suites for wheelchairs and changing stations for attendees requiring diaper changes.

To learn more about the event, to donate, or to volunteer, visit their website at https://hoovesandhalos.org. To learn more about the MPHS Construction program, contact the Career and Technology Director, Karl Whitehurst, at 903-575-2020.

Photo:

Front (L to R) Construction students Emilio Reyes, Jr., Addriana Cordova, Alan Nava

Center (L to R) MPHS Life Skills teacher James Townsend, Johnette Poole and one of her therapy dogs

Back (L to R) MPHS Construction instructors Jim Alston and Alan Salinas, MPHS Construction student Ailyen De La Rosa, MPHS Principal Craig Bailey