Success StoryHardin County Homemakers Continue to Give To Communities in Record Numbers
Hardin County Homemakers Continue to Give To Communities in Record Numbers
Author: Dayna Fentress
Planning Unit: Hardin County CES
Major Program: Kentucky Extension Homemaker Association
Plan of Work: Activating Volunteer Leaders through Extension Programs
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
The Hardin County Extension Homemakers are involved in a wide variety of community service projects, personal volunteer service projects, and more. Hundreds of Hardin County Homemakers spend hours sewing lap bags for local nursing homes, ministering meals to the less fortunate in their hometowns, volunteering at Extension events, taking local neighbors to doctors appointments or grocery shopping, donating their time to fill backpacks for Feeding America's Backpack Program, setting up booths at their local festivals, stuffing bags and working stations for 4-H Safety Day and much, much more.
In the 2024-2025 year, the Hardin County Homemakers accumulated more than 120,000 volunteer hours. Of the 417 Hardin County Homemakers we have, this number was documented by members from 9 different clubs, almost ensuring that we truly are doing even more than we know.
In addition to those hours, the County Homemaker Council voted in the summer of 2024 to "adopt" the blessing boxes around town. A list was compiled and distributed at a council meeting that told of each box around the county. Clubs then claimed one or more boxes to continually fill. In the summer of 2025, ALL Hardin County blessing boxes are still checked on at least once per month, though often more often, by at least one County Homemaker. Blessing box ideas were included in the newsletter and Homemakers are constantly suggesting new things to place in blessing boxes.
Using Kentucky's current volunteer hour value rate of $34.79 per hour via Independent Sector, Hardin County Homemakers saved their communities and our county more than $4,174,800 by completing these tasks at no cost.
The Hardin County Homemakers have set a goal for themselves to surpass this number in the next year, and to have more members turn their volunteer hours in so we can see even more the impact we have on this community.
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