Enhancing community vitality is a core goal for Family and Consumer Sciences Extension.  Improving the lives of consumers and giving them effective ways to help themselves, means that our work is integral to healthy communities.  During FY23 Family and Consumer Sciences Extension continued to maintain community engagement of our clientele to ensure that they were informed and active members who were contributing to their own well-being.  

Through interactive, online programming efforts FCS Extension reached nearly 1.5 million people this year. Clientele accessed our content through social media for a variety of educational experiences. From timely social media posts and stories to virtual Book Clubs and learning sessions to podcasts and online “classroom” opportunities, FCS Extension is reaching someone in every single Kentucky county. When we are most effective at the state level, we engage people with content relevant to their own personal needs and give those who don't already have a relationship with Extension introduction to local offices and their resources. One example of faith that our clientele put in our online resources was evidenced by the egg shortage that occurred in the winter.  As egg prices were climbing, clientele looked to us to give them resources to manage their personal egg supply.  Our content specialist for Food Safety provided information for the creation of a social media post on "freezing eggs".  That post was accessed by more than 60K people, giving them reliable information about the best practices for preserving eggs when they were able to find them at lower costs.

The Talking FACS podcast continues to serve as another resource for an audience that might not typically utilize our programs.  This year we engaged more than 63,000 listeners with content related to families, food, finances, and health. In addition to our regular weekly show, our monthly spin-off shows, Cancer Conversations and KY Smiles, are avenues for engaging listeners with health related content from Markey Cancer Center professionals and the UK College of Dentistry team.  This year, UK Healthcare featured Cancer Conversations on Talking FACS in their annual report due to the enhanced reach that they were able to achieve with their content through the partnership.

The Big Blue Book Club continues to engage diverse audiences with content that is presented in an easily digestible manner. New and repeat clientele of our book club sessions report appreciation for the engaged learning opportunity that is available in their own homes on their own schedules.

The success of these efforts is dependent on effective marketing efforts to encourage and sustain engagement both on the state and county levels.  As we have created a reliable brand, clientele know that our programs will provide research-based information that they can trust.