Due to the Covid 19 Pandemic, the Crittenden County Extension Office was forced to rethink the way we deliver programming to our clientele.  The week prior to the agents being asked to work remotely, we met and planned then best way to continue to offer quality programming without face to face contact.  

One thing we decided to do was offer “Grab and Go” bags with projects from all three program areas during the months of March and April.   88 % of the audience polled picked up bags 2 or more times with half of that percentage getting them more than 5 times.   Because of the educational information that our extension office offered, we reached a new audience, 24% of the people picking up bags were new clientele.   Of the activities provided, families enjoyed (in order of rank of highest to lowest) the agriculture/gardening bags, arts, cooking, STEM activities, healthy living, photography, sewing, natural resources and budgeting.  79% of the audience polled indicated they or a family member learned a new skill.  Most examples included that their family is learning how to garden and take care of plants while learning about seeds, soil, and how plants grow. Because of the activities and educational resources provided, 79% of people polled indicated that their families are making healthy lifestyle choices, 95% we engaging in more family time, 83% said they were growing a garden together, and 100% of the audience polled said they will continue to use the services that the Crittenden County Extension Service provides.  There was also a place for people to add their name, address and phone number if they would like to receive more information about what the Crittenden County Extension Service provides to the community.  

Some of the activities that 4-H provided were STEM, Owl pellets, Gardening, Calligraphy, Crafts, Bracelets, Outdoor/Natural Resources and healthy living obstacle courses.  One of the most meaningful kits were the mask helpers.  This taught youth how to sew on a button as well and making a handy “helper” for front line workers ear from the wear and tear on masks.  Youth sewed a button to the two ends of a piece of ribbon.  They also wrote front line workers a thank you card. Youth made and donated 180 mask helper in ours and surrounding communities. I was also contacted by one of our social workers in the county and she asked me for some activities for the youth that are in foster care.  They were provided with Sprout houses, Bird Slueth activity and how to make a bird feeder, as well as a creative sidewalk chalk mural kit.  She was ecstatic to find all the activities she can hand out to the kids. Kits were also provided to every student in the 1st grade.  Every spring, 4-H hatches chicks in the 1st grade classrooms and this year we weren't able to because of COVID, however the teachers still wanted to offer this opportunity to their students.  133 packets were provided to students and the chick incubation and hatching was done through a series of live videos on Facebook.  Not only were the students excited to see the chicks hatch live, but even other adults in the community enjoyed watching the chicks hatch.  Chicks were then given to youth in the county to either start backyard flocks or add to their back yard flocks.

We feel as an office that during this time that we were able to still provide clientele with quality educational programming for the whole family and it was a positive service to help people and families during this stressful time. We had many people express to us how helpful these “Grab and Go” bags were to their families.