Describe the Issue or Situation.

The new year offers a blank slate for new beginnings. Along with setting goals to make positive changes in their lives, people set goals at the beginning of the year to give them direction.  Setting goals of personal improvement can help people build communities and foster social connection. 

On January 3, 2025, I provided a vision board program for 4-H youth. This program gave children the opportunity to start thinking about what they wanted to accomplish in the new year and design a personal craft that would guide them towards achieving their goals. The vision board activity gave children the opportunity to create a visual representation of their dreams and aspirations with images, words, and symbols that reflected the things that they wanted to achieve and experience in life.

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

Boone County youth who are enrolled in 4-H participated in this activity. Some of the magazines that I collected to use for this project came from two different Boone County Public libraries. The Boone County Horticulture Agent also provided magazines for the use of this activity.

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

The targeted audience was youth aged 9-18 years old enrolled in Boone County 4-H.  There were four children (three girls and one boy) who registered for the class and attended the program. Three of the participants were White, Non-Hispanic and one was of Asian descent. 

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.

Short-term Outcomes: Children who attended the 4-H: Vision Boards program were given the opportunity to be involved in a creative experience in which they could showcase their dreams and goals. They used various materials to create their own vision boards.  At the end of the program, a five-question evaluation was distributed amongst the four youth. From this evaluation, it was reported that in the past, three of the four youth had never set a goal for themselves or made a resolution that they wanted to achieve for themselves at the beginning of a new year. Two of the children stated that what they liked about the activity was that “it was fun and creative,” and that “it helped me to plan the future.”

 In addition, from this program, participants stated that what they learned about themselves were “that I am brave and confident,” “I’m funny,” and “I love being silly.” One participant stated that the knowledge she gained from the program was that “I learned that some flowers have different types of names.”