Title: CYFAR (Children, Youth, and Families at Risk) Grant Supports Field Trip for Youth in Hardin County-Sept. 2024

Name: Chandra DeRamus, FCS Extension Agent
Planning Unit: Hardin County CES

Major Program: 4-H-Science, & Technology

Date: 9/30/24
 

Within certain communities within Kentucky, families are faced with different challenge.  Among those challenges are rent increases, food increases, and the rising cost of utilities. When the cost of goods increase, that may lead to some funding disparities for a small percentage of families who may be struggling to make ends meet from month to month. To add to those disparities the family struggles to come with enough money to spend on extra curricular activities for their children. In spite of the many challenges faced by families, within Hardin County a grant fund was started to accommodate the changes that families are going thru. 

The family and consumer science (FCS) extension agent from Kentucky State University (KSU) Cooperative Program collaborated with a team of extension administrators, and specialists from the University of Kentucky (UK) Cooperative extension to work on a grant targeting youth from diverse audiences that may not have access to as many program opportunities depending which schools they attend. 

The grant that was established is called the CYFAR (Children, Youth, and Families at Risk) Grant.   This project is a multi-institution grant initiative between the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Programs, serving youth over the span of 5-years (2020-2024) within Hardin County and Fayette county. Most of the information in this report will focus on the results of the efforts within Hardin County only. The funds from this grant were supported by U.S. Department of Agriculture, (USDA) and National Institute for Food & Agriculture, (NIFA). Over the course of the grant we have had about 500 youth who have participated in the grant and gained life skill experiences thru the CYFAR Grant. The purpose of the grant was to provide comprehensive life skills development programming to Middle and High School youth. 

The goals of the CYFAR Grant which was given the title "Uplift-Empowering Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Future" was developed to reach diverse youth audiences that are underserved within Hardin County. One of the main initiatives of the grant was to expose youth to educational experiences & field trips to visit colleges and educational exhibits where they could knowledge about various college & career opportunities & get some hands on experience to learn about various subject areas such as Agriculture, Science, Technology, Engineering, FCS, Geology, Forestry, and other career paths.  

With this in mind, in order to meet those initiatives in July 2024, the grant sponsored a group a total of about 36 youth of on a field trip experience to one educational exhibit -Kentucky Science Center, Louisville, Kentucky and to one demonstration research farm with KSU Harold Benson Research Farm in Frankfort, Kentucky. 

The first part of the field trip was designed to engage students in learning and exploring new processes related to STEM, Aviation, and Music/Arts & Sciences at the Kentucky Science Center.  Whereas on the second part of the trip, they had a chance to explore the campus of KSU at the demonstration research facility at the Harold Benson Farm that has about 330 acres of farm land. The youth explored a variety of activities from taking a tour to get a ride around the farm, interaction with some farm animals (goats). Along with learning about plant propagation & determining different ph levels in crops to watching a live demonstration on flying drones and learn about how drones can be used in Agriculture to water plants, record videos of crops, and deploy other resources on a farm. 

For the purposes of the CYFAR grant a survey called the Common Measures, from another university, was used to measure the youth’s overall growth in their personal development and in their ability to identify priority concepts related to areas in communication, leadership, and life skills. The survey tool measured things such as social skills, communication and leadership skills. Using a scale from 1 to 5, the youth were able to respond. Overall, the results of the survey revealed that after participating in the grant approximately 98% of the youth participants did improve upon their communication and leadership skills. More importantly they also learned how to prioritize risks better and they improved upon their decision-making skills. Some other measures that were revealed in the survey results showed an improvement overall with a majority of the youth being able to set positive goals. A small percentage of the youth were empowered after participating in the grant and earned scholarships and various opportunities for internships and jobs outside of school. 

Finally, some youth were inspired to apply for scholarships in order to pursue college degrees and were awarded funding for their efforts. In closing, our hope is that the CYFAR Grant will continue to have a positive impact on the youth that participate in its programs across the commonwealth within Kentucky. Our goal is to continue the efforts year after year and empower youth into a more successful life after they graduate from high school.

Success Story Pictures 

Pictured Above: 

Youth riding on the back of a tractor trailer to look at some rows of crops, and a demonstration on plant propagation. 

Pictured Above: KSU State Specialist in Horticulture showing a group of students some vegetables that were grown in the field. 

Pictured Above: Youth pose for a group shot in front of the Kentucky Science Center, Louisville, KY.

Pictured Above: Youth explore some of the activities within the Kentucky Science Center in Louisville, KY interacting with various magnetic materials and other materials that magnify text and identify different concepts using contextual images to stimulate exploratory learning experiences. 

Pictured Above: Youth explore some of the activities within the Kentucky Science Center in Louisville, KY interacting with science and aviation at the "Simulated Gaming Station." The guys look on with excitement and wonder learning how to navigate different aerial positions using gamification.

Pictured Above: This group of youth are excited about the upcoming field trip. They all look at the camera with a look of sheer excitement and cheer, awaiting the activities on the trip.