Extension
It Starts With Us
Improving, basic lifeskills, well-being, and quality of life
Strengthening Community Lifeskills
Jeremy Teal, Erika Lyons, Curtis Dame, Katie Jury, and Katherine Jury
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
Communications and Expressive Arts 4-H Core Curriculum
4-H Youth Development Programming
Family and Consumer Sciences 4-H Core Curriculum
According to CEDIK statistics, in Hopkins County, 19.5% of adults and 26.4% of children live below the poverty line, 21.8% of adults report only fair or poor overall health, and 35.4% of the total population is considered obese. Regarding education, only 13.4% of Hopkins County residents hold a Bachelor's degree or higher, 79.9% hold a high school diploma or GED, and the average household income falls behind the national average by almost $12,000 annually. As a result of the demographic data, and availability of Extension resources and programming, the County Extension Council and Area Program Councils recommend that children and families in Hopkins County are in need of life-skill education, including the knowledge and skills to lead a healthy lifestyle, communicate effectively, and manage household resources.
A decrease in the number of obese and overweight children, youth, adults and elderly
Improvement in the overall health and wellbeing of residents, which indicate quality of life.
Increase in adults and families living above the poverty line.
Increase in education and workforce placements.
Maintain appropriate calorie balance and activity level during each stage of life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, pregnancy and breastfeeding and older age.
Practice healthy lifestyle decision-making that strengthen individuals’ ability to cope with normal life stressors.
Increased practice of skills that increase employability and educational attainment.
Change in knowledge needed to make informed choices regarding healthy lifestyle choices and basic life skills.
Change in opinions and attitudes needed to make informed choices regarding healthy lifestyle choices and basic life skills.
Change in learned skills needed to make informed choices regarding healthy lifestyle choices and basic life skills.
Initial Outcome: Change in knowledge needed to make informed choices regarding healthy lifestyle choices and basic life skills.
Indicator: increased knowledge of healthy choices and life skills
Method: pre-test/post-test, surveys, NEERS data
Timeline: 2017-2018
Initial Outcome: Change in learned skills needed to make informed choices regarding healthy lifestyle choices and basic life skills.
Indicator: increased skills that facilitate healthy choices and life skills
Method: pre-test/post-test, surveys, NEERS data
Timeline: 2017-2018
Intermediate Outcome: Increased practice of skills that increase employability and educational attainment.
Indicator: surveys, use of local resources including employment workshops and programs
Method: pre-test post test data, surveys of use of local resources
Timeline: 2017-2018
Intermediate Outcome: Practice healthy lifestyle decision-making that strengthen individuals’ ability to cope with normal life stressors.
Indicator: surveys, NEERS data, use of local resources, including mental health
Method: pre-test post test data, surveys of use of facilities
Timeline: 2017-2018
Intermediate Outcome: Maintain appropriate calorie balance and activity level during each stage of life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, pregnancy and breastfeeding and older age.
Indicator: surveys, use of local recreational facilities
Method: pre-test post test data, surveys of use of facilities
Timeline: 2017-2018
Long-term Outcome: A decrease in the number of obese and overweight children, youth, adults and elderly.
Indicator: CDC and CEDIK data on population weight distribution
Method: data comparison over years
Timeline: 2017-2020
Long-term Outcome: Increase in adults and families living above the poverty line.
Indicator: CEDIK data of household income and poverty statistics
Method: data comparison over years
Timeline: 2017-2020
Long-term Outcome: Increase in education and workforce placements.
Indicator: CEDIK data of employment statistics and educational attainment
Method: data comparison over years
Timeline: 2017-2020
Audience: Producers, Business Owners, and future clients
Project or Activity: Budget, Management, Stress and other meetings
Content or Curriculum: Moneywise, FarmStart, Annie's Project, and other content based programming.
Inputs: Extension Agents, Specialists, Community leaders, and Extension publications.
Date: 2017-2018
Audience: Teens and Families
Project or Activity: Suicide Prevention Coalition
Content or Curriculum: UK Healthcare specialists
Inputs: Health Dept., community partners, school system, faith-based communities
Date: 2017-2018
Audience: Families and Individuals
Project or Activity: Pinterest Club
Content or Curriculum: UK publications and Extension information
Inputs: Extension agent, UK publications and Extension information, community volunteers
Date: 2017-2018
Audience: Hopkins County Homemakers
Project or Activity: Homemaker lessons, local, area, and state-wide KEHA activities
Content or Curriculum: KEHA curriculum, area Homemaker monthly lessons
Inputs: KEHA curriculum, UK specialists and curriculum
Date: 2017-2020
Author: Katherine Jury
Major Program: Nurturing Parenting
Healthy couple and parenting relationships and resulting family stability benefit the well-being of adults and children. Children who live absent from their biological fathers are two to three times more likely to be poor, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents. In an effort to increase parenting skills and provide educational resources, the Hopkins County Family and Consumer Sciences Age
Author: Katie Mills
Major Program: Family and Consumer Sciences 4-H Core Curriculum
Today, more people are becoming obese and in Hopkins County alone 35 percent of children are obese. This is a large number that we are hoping to help decrease. Also, there are over 50 percent of youth eligible for free or reduced lunch. There could be many variables for why a youth may be obese. One could be that their parents or themselves do not have the knowledge to fix healthy meals. Another, that youth are not willing to try new foods that they have not had before or that eating healthy see
Author: Jeremy Teal
Major Program: Communications and Expressive Arts 4-H Core Curriculum
The Hopkins County Cooperative Extension Service delivered programming on public speaking and preparing speeches and demonstrations to approximately 401 4-Hers over a three-month period. 4-Hers were instructed on effective communications skills and how to develop a structured presentation. Students learned how to select and research a topic and then develop their idea into a presentation. 4-Hers learned the subtleties associated with a good presentation; such as proper rate, intensity level, flu
Author: Katherine Jury
Major Program: Promoting Healthy Homes and Communities (general)
According to the Robert Wood Johnson County Health Rankings, in Hopkins County, respondents reported an average of 4.5 unhealthy days per month in the last year. For children, being ill leads to absenteeism from school, and missing important educational information. In an effort to combat the high incidence of illness and absenteeism due to illness in the Hopkins County Schools, the Hopkins County Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences approached the Family Resource and Youth Service
Author: Katie Mills
Major Program: 4-H Youth Development Programming
Stuck in the Middle is another amazing opportunity for Middle School students to learn more about what 4-H has to offer while gaining leadership skills and teamwork. Stuck in the Middle is held at West Kentucky 4-H Camp in Dawson Springs and open to all Middle School youth in District Six and Seven. The planning committee for 2018 was made up of Mackenzie Pogue (Muhlenberg), Ginny Harper (Calloway), Kelsey Chadwick (Carlisle), Kaitlyne Metsker (Christian) and Katie Jury (Hopkins). A
Author: Jeremy Teal
Major Program: Community Engagement
Farm to Fork is an event that uses locally grown food to make the meal for the night. In Hopkins County, the second annual Farm to Fork event consisted of over 150 guest and over 45 volunteers. 4-H received over $2400 in donations from the event for volunteering.The adult and youth volunteers get to take life skills away from it. They are taught sanitation policies when handling food, plating food, proper way to serve the dish, and manners when doing so. These are skills that can be used y
Author: Katie Mills
Major Program: Leadership 4-H Core Curriculum
Kentucky 4-H Teen Summit is a three week program geared towards middle school youth and each county gets the pleasure of participating one weekend of the three weeks. The purpose of Kentucky 4-H Teen Summit help engage youth in more 4-H activities and bring their knowledge back to their county, creativity, develop leadership skills, communication skills, generosity and an opportunity to grow as a person. The event allows counties to attend one weekend out of the three and it takes place at Lake
