Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Anita Boyd
Major Program: Community Engagement
Even before Covid-19, a lot of people didn’t know what services and educational programs were offered at the Mason County Cooperative Extension Service including the Expanded Foods and Nutrition Education Program. If they knew of Extension, it was mostly due to being in 4-H as students or going to 4-H Camp. To help alleviate this problem, the Mason County EFNEP Assistant came up with the idea of having an Extension drive-thru event. Participants received a packet contain
Author: Robert Amburgey
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Bath County Extension office, in collaboration with local county government, local EMS, the regional health department and the 10 surrounding counties served as a regional receiving station for much needed medical supplies related to the covid 19 pandemic. The Bath County facility was designed to handle shipping and receiving of produce with loading docks, forklifts and pallet movers. Because of our unique design and available equipment, the Bath County facility was designated ea
Author: Glenna Bentley
Major Program: Community Engagement
Cooperative Extension Steps Up to Help With COVID-19The COVID-19 virus closed many businesses and placed a strain on health care providers worldwide creating a high demand for personal protection equipment for health care workers. With such a demand on personal protection equipment, items such as isolation gowns were not available. During this time, the Lewis County Extension Office was contacted by Primary Plus asking if we had anyone that could sew isolation gowns for their 9 offices in Lewis,
Author: Anne Stephens
Major Program: Community Engagement
4-H Livestock Program continues to have strong Community Support in 2020The 4-H Youth Livestock Program is the largest animal science project area enabling youth to develop their interest in beef cattle, sheep, swine and other 4-H projects. Youth learn about selection, care, and feeding of livestock, animal health, and importance of good record keeping. Emphasis for these projects continues to be focused on life skill development.In Greenup County 4-H Livestock is one of the biggest 4-H programs
Author: Jeremy Williams
Major Program: Community Engagement
In recent years, Harlan County has faced numerous natural disasters, such as flooding, snow storms and wildfires. These events also led to power and water outages and residents being evacuated from home or not being able to access their home. Education about preparedness is imperative. With September being National Preparedness Month, the Harlan County Extension Service teamed up with the Letcher County and Wise County Extension Offices to host six Disaster Preparedness i
Author: Lora Pullin
Major Program: Community Engagement
The 4-H Youth Livestock Program is the largest animal science project area enabling youth to develop their interest in beef cattle, sheep, swine and other 4-H projects. Youth learn about selection, care, and feeding of livestock, animal health, and importance of good record keeping. Emphasis for these projects continues to be focused on life skill development.In Greenup County 4-H Livestock is one of the biggest 4-H programs. Due to 4-H Agent vacancy and COVID-19, the County Fair was cance
Author: Lindsay Arthur
Major Program: Community Engagement
On September 17th, 2020 Nicholas County received a shipment of over $70,000 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables to be distributed throughout the community provided by the USDA Farmers to Families program. This was made possible by the Nicholas County Judge Executives Office and Fiscal Court with numerous amounts of volunteers and community partners helping pass out the boxes the day of distribution. Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud recipes and materials accompanied the boxes with the help of the Nic
Author: Corinne Belton
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Covid-19 crisis of 2020 led to social isolation and a lack of face-to-face networking opportunities for many families across the Commonwealth. Parents worked from home while children attended online or NTI classes. Sports and extracurricular activities were canceled and families found themselves spending more time together, at home, than ever before. While this was a challenging time in many ways, it also presented unique opportunities for families to connect with each ot
Author: Joe Maynard
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Covid-19 pandemic has had an enormous effect on how extension offices conduct business. Martin County has strictly followed the Healthy at Work Guidelines in an effort to slow down and stop the spread of the virus. Since reopening the office we have strictly enforced social distancing, made sure staff and clientele wear face coverings, provided hand sanitizer, encouraged hand washing, cleaned the building and all surfaces and made sure that staff and clientele feel healthy before
Author: Laken Campbell
Major Program: Community Engagement
Sizzlin’ Summer SeriesDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Kentucky has taken matters into their own hands to spice up programming. One of the new series that has occurred because of the Coronavirus has been the Sizzlin’ Summer Series. This was a 7 week series that included topics such as: Outdoor Activities, Thrill the Grill, Fire up the 4th, #OperationSunshine, Summer Melt, Oh the Places We Can Go, and #KYLovesAg. To finish off the series, there was a 5K/10K race you cou
Author: Marsha Hagler
Major Program: Community Engagement
Community surveys in Nelson County indicated that families wanted more safe activity options in the community. Nelson County traditionally relies on tourism and fall festivals for income and community engagement. Covid-19 greatly impacted our community's ability to engage in traditional fall festivities. Nelson County 4-H also relied heavily on face-to-face fundraising efforts, in the fall such as candy sales and working events. These efforts to were curtailed due to Covid.Patterned af
Author: Marsha Hagler
Major Program: Community Engagement
Cooking with the Community, a 13 part video series, was a collaborative effort with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension, Nelson County 4-H, Nelson County Nutrition Education Program, Nelson County Community Education, the Backpack Weekend Food Program and many community leaders and agencies. The videos were distributed through social media and community partners from November 2020-May 2021 and are available on the Nelson County Cooperative Extension webpage at Nelson.ca.
Author: Mollie Tichenor
Major Program: Community Engagement
Teenage pregnancy, babies born out of wedlock, and children born to low income families is more the reality than not these days. This is no different for the residents of Spencer County. This year the Spencer County FCS, 4H and Ag agents, in conjunction with the Family Resource & Youth Service Centers, and the Health Department planned the Spencer County Community Baby Shower. This program focuses on soon to be, or have a child up to 12 months, mothers and fathers from low income families an
Author: Joanna Coles
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Warren County Extension Agents and Staff created a fun, mobile educational program to highlight all program areas offered by the Cooperative Extension Service entitled “Extension on the Go”. This collaborative effort focused on compiling a themed bag full of educational materials, family activities, recipes, and more for Warren County residents to enjoy. For September, Fun Family Adventures was the theme and the bag included: seeds and educational mate
Author: Sharee Schoonover
Major Program: Community Engagement
Providing for the Community Livingston County ANR and 4-H teamed up with Livingston County Helping Hands to participate in the Tri-State Food Banks’s Protein and Dairy giveaway program. This Tri-State Food Bank program helps families that have been affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. This program supplies several dairy and protein options as well as other useful food products such as fruits and vegetables. These are then redistribu
Author: Brandon Sears
Major Program: Community Engagement
In our fast paced world, information is available in many forms. The Madison County ANR program has long relied on hardcopy newsletter mailings to around 1,100 households as the main source of outreach for education and program advertisement. In recent years, an electronic listserv has been created to offer clients the email option instead of regular mail. The listserv has around 150 subscribers. This way of distributing newsletters has helped reduce cost and labor within our office.The ANR prog
Author: Kelsey Chadwick
Major Program: Community Engagement
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many families in our county were experiencing frustration with virtual methods and pick-up of programs-in-a-bag had slowed. In an effort to find a new way to reach the community during this time, the Graves County Extension Office hosted the first annual Extension Trunk-or-Treat, drive-thru style, on October 22nd. Every Extension group was represented with a trunk. It was a wonderful experience for the community with 4-H Sewing, Livestock, Dog, and Horse Clubs prese
Author: Marsha Hagler
Major Program: Community Engagement
The 4-H Helping Hands Project was developed by the members of the Nelson County 4-H Teen Council. This group of 20 members meets weekly to learn about needs in our community and how they can develop meaningful engagement projects to address those needs. Some projects are lead by extension staff and some by members of the 4-H Teen Council. The goal of the project was to introduce youth to meaningful community engagement projects that they can replicate to multiply the impact in
Author: Traci Johnson
Major Program: Community Engagement
HighPoint Charitable Services is a local agency that provides food, clothing, and other essentials for people in need. They also offer support and referral services for life skills training and education. Oldham County Extension supports HighPoint by providing nutrition, cooking, and gardening information and kits for their clients.In Fall 2020, HighPoint shared that they had lost a major sponsor who helped provide toys for children during the holidays. Oldham County Extension
Author: Samantha Saunders
Major Program: Community Engagement
Over the summer, I had the idea of doing a community scavenger hunt. I though that it would be a great program that could get families involved in the community and it would give them something to do during our COVID-19 shut down. I reached out to a local business owner who is has been very interested in partnering with me in my "community improvement" efforts over the past year. She loved the idea and thought that we could use this program to showcase some of the historical locations
Author: Gary Hamilton
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Beef Cattle industry and the forage production that supports it play a major role in Montgomery County’s agricultural economy. Supporting this industry with educational programing, beef promotional events, social fundraising events and interactive producer tours are the 183 members of the Montgomery County Cattlemen’s Association. Although not as active this year due to the pandemic the Association with the assistance of the Extension Service has held 3 cooking drive thru events
Author: Mary McCarty
Major Program: Community Engagement
As the community environment changed in Frenchburg in 2020 because COVID-19 restrictions. It was noticed that the community needed a program to direct their attention from COVID. The Menifee County Extension Office staff developed the “12 Days of Community Christmas” each workday December 1 – 15 a different activity was advertised. Some of the activities that were advertised were Ugly Christmas Sweater, Holiday Skit, Gingerbread House, and Best Stocking to nam
Author: Laura Maggard
Major Program: Community Engagement
Due to the pandemic, the Lawrence County Extension Office has been very active on social media. Each program area as one day per week that they post their program specific resources. On the Lawrence County Extension Facebook page, there are normally 7-8 posts per week and depending on whats going on there are more. When the pandemic first began in the spring, the facebook page was experiencing a boom in engagements, "likes", shares, and views. The community was really enjoying our virt
Author: Benjamin Conner
Major Program: Community Engagement
In an age where technology and instant communication are commonplace, the Scott County Agriculture and Natural Resources newsletter, “The Farmacy”, was a bit behind the times. September 2020 marked the first time the newsletter had been sent out electronically through email. Prior to that date, it was sent by mail to over 980 contacts. These contacts included duplicates, deceased individuals, and several that had moved away from the community. The process of mailing to 980 contacts t
Author: Mackenzie Pogue
Major Program: Community Engagement
The 4-H mission is to help youth reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults. Our local 4-H Teen Club holds high regards throughout our community for their continued civic engagement and leadership. Impacting others in a time where social interaction is limited has been a continued challenge. A challenge that Muhlenberg Countians have worked tirelessly to overcome. Missions have been created, committees have been formed, and movement
Author: Daniel Kahl
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK) was approached by the Bourbon County Joint Planning Office to assist with a public engagement process to result in a highly supported comprehensive plan for the county. CEDIK faculty and staff and the Bourbon County Joint Planning Office staff crafted and facilitated a public engagement plan to shape the goals and objectives of The Envision 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The comprehensive plan needed to align with reside
Author: Phillip Long
Major Program: Community Engagement
1. Since we use these stories as a resource for multiple requests, don’t restrict Success Stories only to traditional Extension appointments and activities. Any accomplishments and efforts that are noteworthy may be included.Kentucky Extension Service’s New Way of Program Delivery. In the early spring of 2020, the US found itself faced with a COVID-19 Pandemic which eventually limited public access to nearly every public and private enterprise including all educational systems,
Author: Matthew Chadwick
Major Program: Community Engagement
For the past year I have had the pleasure of assisting several of our key stakeholders in feeling comfortable accessing meetings through the zoom internet platform. I developed a detailed instruction sheet with color coded access points for use so that they individuals could weigh their options on how to connect via phone, tablet, computer or even an app on their smart phone. This lead to me having the opportunity to work with our local county farm bureau on hosting the first ever virtual county
Author: Bernita Cheirs
Major Program: Community Engagement
According to an article by Highland Springs, one of the top ten benefits of spending time with family is that “children who spend more time with their families have shown less risk of behavioral issues, such as violence and substance abuse.” The Fulton Hickman Agency for Substance Abuse Policy (ASAP) provided funds to host a Family event. ASAP Council’s goal is to reduce the incidence of substance and tobacco use in adults and youth. Along with the Fulton County FRYSC and the F
Author: Rita Stewart
Major Program: Community Engagement
Members of the Leading Healthy Community Connections Leadership group, initiated the #strongertogetherlincoln program as their leadership project in April 2020. Members meet twice a month to plan educational programs related to Mental Health during COVID. Members identify topics, promote the programs, and evaluate the programs. Members of this leadership group are continuing to make a positive difference in the health of people in their community. Members suggested a prog
Author: Rita Stewart
Major Program: Community Engagement
When the pandemic forced us into virtual programming, we all found ourselves learning to find new ways to meet the needs of communities. We learned to use Zoom and Facebook Live to teach classes and communicate with others. We encouraged people in our communities to learn to use these platforms to join in our programs. In Lincoln County, this Extension Agent embraced the change and moved forward with Family and Consumer Sciences programming. This agent has set up more th
Author: Edith Lovett
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Pulaski County Extension Office invited the public to donate needed items to the eastern portion of the state that experienced significant flood damage and loss the last week in February. The Pulaski County Extension office collected and delivered supplies for one week to give help immediately to those in need. A van load of bottled water, gallons of water, cleaning supplies, paper towels, paper goods, baby wipes, diapers, and othe
Author: Krista Perry
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Capital City Activity Senior Center in Frankfort provides daily meals and resources to hundreds of senior citizens, 60 years old and above throughout Franklin County. In March of 2020, the senior center closed their building due to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing the Director to scramble in finding enough people to deliver meals and resources to the hundreds of senior citizens who utilized the center. Therefore, the Franklin County Extension Agents stepped in to help! For th
Author: Sarah Drysdale
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Ballard County Extension Office partners with the American Red Cross to host community wide blood drives every other month. The normal average donation has been fourteen (14) units over the last year. FCS agent took over as blood program leader to help organize blood drives, recruitment of volunteers and blood donors. The goal is to increase blood donations to an average of twenty (20) units collected within a year. Blood Donation Drives have always been an essential need for local hospitals
Author: Kayla Watts
Major Program: Community Engagement
Abraham H. Maslow introduced the concept of a hierarchy of needs back in 1943. The hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill their basic physiological needs, before proceeding through rising levels of need—safety & security, love/belonging, self-esteem, to self-actualization. During the early spring in Breathitt County Kentucky, many residents suffered physiological losses from a devastating flood; leaving many without clean drinking water, a home, or a way to clean
Author: Ryan Spicer
Major Program: Community Engagement
Abraham H. Maslow introduced the concept of a hierarchy of needs back in 1943. The hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill their basic physiological needs, before proceeding through rising levels of need—safety & security, love/belonging, self-esteem, to self-actualization. During the early spring in Breathitt County Kentucky, many residents suffered physiological losses from a devastating flood; leaving many without clean drinking water, a home, or a way to clean
Author: Phillip Long
Major Program: Community Engagement
1. Since we use these stories as a resource for multiple requests, don’t restrict Success Stories only to traditional Extension appointments and activities. Any accomplishments and efforts that are noteworthy may be included. The Louisville Metro Office of Community Development list more than 300 vacant lots in the city many of which are located in areas designated a Food Desert. An application to lease or purchase these lots is required along with a detailed written use. The Louisvil
Author: Diana Doggett
Major Program: Community Engagement
Kentucky maintains the highest rating of child abuse and neglect in the nation. Typically, grandparents and/or relatives are called upon to take immediate custody of these children. The needs of these children can seem overwhelming, especially if you are unexpectedly thrust into the role of being their primary caregiver. Twenty years ago, Bluegrass Area FCS agents created a handbook for children caregivers. The Bluegrass Regional Grandparents As Parents Coalition attempte
Author: John (Connor) Cooper
Major Program: Community Engagement
In August of 2019, the Hopkins County Extension office had a ribbon cutting on the new Danny Payton Educational Center and Farmers Market. Around 200 community members came to honor the life of Danny Payton and to see the new market in person. In a matter of months, the excitement for the market season would shift to panic as COVID-19 became present in the U.S.A.For a full year programs with Hopkins County Extension were forced to either halt or be transitioned to an online format. The same tren
Author: Heather Coleman
Major Program: Community Engagement
When Covid-19 struck Kentucky in March of 2020, schools closed, and our in-person programs came to a standstill. During this time Floyd County 4-H provided 4-H Activity Newsletter Packets and one time grab and go kits. From March to late August, we had 540 youth take activity packets, representing 274 families. In the fall we hoped things would start to go back to normal, unfortunately it did not. During the COVID-19 pandemic our 4-H programming has had to make significant adjustments to meet th
Author: T. Adam Probst
Major Program: Community Engagement
Due to much of the flooding in Central/Eastern KY during the spring of 2021, the Woodford County Extension Service coordinated a flood relief drive to provide necessary items for victims. In collaboration with Woodford County Emergency Management and Millville Community Center to distribute the items locally, the Woodford County Extension Service raised several hundred pounds of cleaning supplies for over 50 affected homes in Woodford County and Eastern KY. In addition, 350 small squ
Author: Jessica Marquez
Major Program: Community Engagement
Success Story: Educating our community. Title: Educating the Hispanic/Latinx Community on COVID-19 Major Program: Community Engagement Plan of work: Educating and empowering individuals and families to make responsible choices and develop life skills Outcome Type: Initial Outcome Success Story: Educating and empowering the Hispanic/Latinx Community on COVID-19 Issues: What is the situation? Who cares and why?KSU Extension focuses on strengthening partnerships
Author: Heather Graham
Major Program: Community Engagement
In March 2021, many counties in Eastern KY saw historic flooding. Homes destroyed, vehicles damaged, livestock swept away. The agents and staff of the Wolfe County Extension Office wanted to help their neighboring counties by acting as a centralized location to receive donation items for victims of the flood. Over the course of several weeks many items were brought to the Office: cleaning supplies, air mattresses, fans, water hoses, food, clothing, toiletries, etc. Employees put together over 20
Author: Cameron Correll
Major Program: Community Engagement
Cameron Correll, the project coordinator for the Winchester Design Studio, was first approached by the Clark County 4-H Arts and Culture Club in March of 2020 to host a youth workshop that would expose them to community design principles. A single-day workshop was developed using concepts related to placemaking, idea development, and collage methods. The workshop was held in April 2021 and was attended by three youth from the club and one adult leader. The youth learned about the history of coll
Author: Glen Roberts
Major Program: Community Engagement
Collaborators: Wayne County Extension District Board, Fair Board President, Susie Cowan, Parks and Recreation director, Lonnie Chaplin, County Judge Executive, Mike Anderson, Sound System Designer, Caleb Rose, ANR Agent, Glen Roberts, ANR Assistant, Terry Bertram, KSU Small Farm Assistant, Danny Adams, Wayne County Extension Custodian, Jeff Sutton.Situation: Our community does not have a good quality sound system for large community events. The system that our county park has is old
Author: Tracie Goodman
Major Program: Community Engagement
The McCreary County Extension Office went through many challenges in 2019, which resulted in losing several County Extension Council members. In 2020 the office was entirely rebuilt, but due to Covid and personnel changes we were unable to re-form any of the program councils apart from the Ag Program Council. With input and recommendations from the Extension District Board and other community members in April of 2021, we were able to form a well-rounded FCS and 4-H Council consisting of parents,
Author: Leann Martin
Major Program: Community Engagement
The year 2020, will forever be in our minds as one of the most challenging years, but with great challenge, the Logan County Extension Service found great opportunities to serve through innovative thinking and planning. When traditional educational programming was unavailable, the Logan County Extension Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences, and 4-H & Youth Development as well as the SNAP-Ed Assistant created opportunities for educational growth.Zero-touc
Author: David Coffey
Major Program: Community Engagement
During a global pandemic, schools had close for safety of students and teachers. The school system adopted an online learning model. With 33% of Jackson county living in poverty and the rate for school children being higher, the Extension service saw a need to provide internet to students in the community. The Jackson County Extension Agents worked with UK IT support and the local Internet provider to set up the Jackson County Extension Service Extension Conference Center Parking lot as a free W
Author: Kelly Smith
Major Program: Community Engagement
As a nonprofit it is essential to develop partnerships with community organizations. Relationships with community partners can help with grant writing, volunteer recruitment, and program promotion. The goal of community partnerships is beneficial for both sides and strengthen the broader community. Jefferson County 4-H has developed a very strong relationship with Louisville Public Libraries. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Louisville Free Public Library wanted to conti
