On March 27th, Boyd, Carter, Bath, Menifee, Greenup and Fleming counties came together to host a Middle School Retreat at the Boyd County Expo and Franks Building. We had 28 6th-8th grade participants from the counties. The goal of the retreat was to increase involvement in 4-H participation from Middle School members, allow them to build relationships with youth in our area in their age range with common interest and allow them to give back to individuals in the community that are less fortune. The overnight retreat started with several icebreaker to encourage youth to step outside of their typical friend group to meet new youth from other counties. Then we moved on to the "warm fuzzies" activity. Participants made a decorated bag with their name on it for other teen to write encouraging and positive notes to the new friends they had met.  We then went to our group night out for youth to continue building new friendship. The second day of the retreat, all youth participated in a community service project. Our group partnered with The Neighborhood in Ashland to assist their organization that serves the homeless population in the area. There are several organizations under one roof to provide people with a hot meal, food boxes, access to services and a clothing closet. Several youth stated in their reflections that they appreciated the opportunity to help others in need as well as an eye opening experience of how fortunate they are to have a family to take care of them, a place to call home and even a place to shower. Multiple youth also stated they felt a sense of pride being able to help others in need and would like more opportunities to volunteer their time. Youth also stated they would enjoy additional events for the group to get back together to serve and build friendships with youth in our area.