Describe the Issue or Situation.

The Edmonson County Homemakers have been a staple in the community for nearly a century. The Edmonson County Homemakers are one of the largest civic and volunteer organizations in Edmonson County.  Constantly looking for ways to better the community, the Edmonson County Homemakers strive to do their part to increase the values of lives in their communities.  While there are only 3 traditional clubs in the county, they make a difference by participating in backpack programs, food pantry drives, recycling projects, school enrichment activities, and volunteering for extension programs.  The organization is continually working to recruit new members in an ever-changing society. Building the capacity of volunteer leaders within counties is critical for the sustainability of a community infrastructure that supports long-term commitment to strengthen families. To cultivate these leaders in Edmonson County, Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension is very active with the Edmonson County Homemakers, a division of the Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association (KEHA). The idea behind the 1st annual EC Homemaker's Recruitment Breakfast was to promote the vision and goals of their organization and to hopefully increase membership and/or start some new clubs in our county. We served breakfast, had 2 hands-on craft stations set up for attendees to take part in (ornament making, veg planting with NEP recipe/healthy meal), each current club president spoke about their club, the FCS agent gave an overview of Extension and KEHA, and we gave away door-prizes.

Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable).

Besides the 3 existing Homemaker clubs in our county, we also partnered with Edmonson County Library for this event. 100% of attendees gave positive feedback, "enjoyed the craft stations", "learned so much about Homemakers", also, so many had no idea what all Homemakers do for our community. 

Provide the Number and Description(s) of Participants/Target Audience.

We had over 40 people to RSVP to this event with 32 people attending. The target audience was anyone interested in learning about "Homemakers" , who they are and what they do. The majority of attendees were females over the age of 40, with 5 around the age of 30 and 2 20 year olds. There were also 2 children in attendance with parents. 

Provide a Statement of Outcomes or Program Impact. Please note that the outcomes statement must use evaluation data to describe the change(s) that occurred in individuals, groups, families, businesses, or in the community because of the program/outreach.

The origins of the Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association can be traced to the beginning of the 20th century. Today’s collection of charitable, skilled, and knowledgeable Homemaker groups grew out of the University of Kentucky’s Cooperative Extension Service’s early attempts to connect and educate rural women through home demonstration clubs or tomato clubs. Some early groups focused on canning or reading and reaching out to women on farms. Those humble beginnings have led to an extensive network of women sharing information that would make their domestic lives easier including home economics, new technologies and goods, agricultural skills, food conservation and preservation, and domestic skills. 

At this event we had 3 attendees sign up to be mailbox members, 2 joined an existing club and we had 2 groups wanting to start new Homemaker Clubs this year! As we continue to get the word out about KEHA and "Homemakers" we anticipate that we will continue to grow our membership.