Estill County Teen Club had lost steam over recent years due to some various factors and including turnovers in the 4-H & Youth Development Agent position. Participation had dwindled. In the spring of 2024, club was lucky to have 4 or 5 members show up for a monthly meeting, if at all. 

After 6 months on the job, the new 4-H agent planned to re-invent and market the program differently to entice teen involvement. Starting in the fall of 2024, there were several teen events planned to help grow numbers. Those events were used as a marketing tool to promote the club. There were also meetings held in the fall, but the focus was more on the events and growing interest and reputation back into the program among middle and high school youth and their families. Events planned, created, advertised, and initiated included the following:

• Luau to kick off the new program year for teens. 
• Friendsgiving dinner and evening of activities. 
• Revival of the teen lock-in that came back by request. 

For the events Estill had good numbers compared to the prior year. The Luau yielded 17 youth participants, the Friendsgiving had 27 youth, and the Lock-in resulted in 18 youth participating (but 24 RSVPing). These events have helped renew enthusiasm for the Teen Club programing and the opportunities we can provide in Extension and in 4-H for the youth in Estill County. The Club got back on track by electing officers, and getting more high school youth involvement than it's seen in a while. The 4-H Agent is continually marketing the program in the schools and on social media in order to focus on growth. The target audience is not only middle and high school youth, but also their families, the community, and the younger 4-Hers who look up to the older kids for the fun they can have if they stick it out with 4-H. 

The plan is still a work in progress, and time will tell if a good foundation will be built. However, at the end of October of 2024, the club had a regular meeting with a "larger than normal" group in attendance, and there was Facebook post highlighting the success of the meeting. Facebook Insights reports about that meeting post that there have been 2,033 Views, 860 Reached, and 41% of the Interaction has been from non-followers of the Estill County 4-H page. (The numbers are based off of Facebook Insights noted at the time of writing Success Story herein). Additionally, we had many community members donate to the Teen's request for donations for their "Blessing Bag" Service Project completed at the Lock-in. As a result of the youth and community involvement, the club was able to prepare 25 Blessing Bags to distribute to various Blessing Boxes located around the county. 

Time and further research will be needed to see about the full impact the re-focusing of the program will have. There will be an assessment created for the youth to provide feedback in May, 2025. Long-term, we expect to see continued strength and sustainability built into the teen programing.