Success StoryExploring Our KY Heritage



Exploring Our KY Heritage

Author: Linda Combs

Planning Unit: Knott County CES

Major Program: Kentucky Extension Homemaker Association

Plan of Work: Empowering Community Leaders

Outcome: Intermediate Outcome

The Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association (KEHA) is a volunteer organization that works to improve the quality of life for families and communities through leadership development, volunteer service, and education. The organization was developed in cooperation with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. Across the state, County Extension Agents for Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) work closely with KEHA members and clubs to provide educational programming and coordinate community activities. KEHA is located in every KY county.  According to the 2018 “Quickfacts KY” the southeastern KY counties of: Knott, Letcher, Leslie, Perry, Owsley, Lee, Breathitt and Wolfe have a total population of 105,732.  Each of these counties have new homemaker leaders, 3 new FCS agents and 1 county with no FCS agent.  To help train leaders in each county the Knott county agent went to each county and presented “Exploring Our KY Heritage” a homemaker leadership program to 110 participants.  Post evaluation results indicate that 100% understood the KEHA program emphasis for 2018-2019, 100% understand KEHA reports, 79% planned to share information about leadership skills with other members and to use these skills to improve their clubs. In follow-up evaluations one homemaker reported - “Being able to come, share, learn new information and make new friends has helped my attitude, sense of self-worth and depression.  I am so grateful for extension programs”.  New agents reported “I wish I would have had a training like that when I first started this job. Especially when it came to the things that we report on. I did not have any idea that we had to do reports for Homemakers every year until I received an email from our KEHA contact asking for the information my first year. This program was very informative”.  This lesson helped my members develop an overall understanding of the organization of Homemakers and how they can organize themselves on the local level.  We now have our first local officers and the members have stepped up to complete community service projects this year.






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