Author: Jessica Bessin
Planning Unit: Mercer County CES
Major Program: Community Engagement
Plan of Work: Unrelated to a specified County Plan of Work
Outcome: Initial Outcome
The Mercer County Extension Council hosted a Summer Open House to increase awareness about programs, activities and services available through the Mercer County Extension Office. The event is advertised via social media, signage, flyers and program newsletters published by each agent with the intent to bring more people to the extension office. Although this program has been held for several years, each year the committee which plans the open house comes up with new ideas for continued improvement of the event. This year the event featured tables from each program area, clubs from program areas, related organizations and community partners, and health awareness. We have continued to incorporate KY Proud products into the meal we serve. New this year, we added SNAP-ed recipes to the meal and handed out those recipes for participants to take home with them. This was a huge success. Several people reported back they had made those recipes at home. Every year this event draws in new people to the Extension Office. This year we know of 5-6 new families that attended the event for the first time that had never been to the Extension Office or utilized extension services. As a result, some of them signed up for 4-H activities, program newsletters, and others requested farm visits.
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