In response to COVID-19 closings, Allen County Cooperative Extension sought to meet a community need to provide educational opportunities amid the socially distant learning climate and to maintain agriculture services for Extension clientele.  In an effort to provide new and innovative opportunities, the 4-H, ANR and FCS programs collaborated to develop programs during COVID-19 that would meet youth, families, home-owners, and farmer’s needs.  The Extension Agents developed an “Extension Tool Box” that helped keep clients informed and continuously involved with Cooperative Extension programs and services.  The Extension Tool Box was promoted through social media and local radio programs, and was a necessary element to the continued provision of Extension Programs to the Allen County community through soil testing, plant disease diagnostics and housing 4-H Boredom Buster and Focus on Families Education Kits.    

The Allen County 4-H Agent developed a variety of Boredom Busters Education Kits, with a total output of over 610 Boredom Buster Take-n-Go Educational Kits that allowed youth to engage in high quality hands-on-learning activities from the safety and comfort of their homes.  These “fun and educational” kits encouraged youth to explore and learn through a variety of subjects ranging from: natural resources, expressive arts, physical fitness, mental health, photography, cultural awareness, baking, sewing, robotics, communications, science, engineering, physics, technology and so much more! From the 4-H Kit surveys collected, families identified that the activities “increased family involvement”, were “brand new, never experienced learning opportunities,” and that “youth [found] independence in completing tasks on their own.”   

With a desire to focus on and strengthen the whole family, the Family and Consumer Science Agent developed a Focus on Families Kit series to engage community members during COVID-19.  In total, the FCS Program made and distributed over 325 kits and partnered with the Nutrition Education Program and the Allen County Scottsville Boys and Girls Club to specifically reach these audiences in our community.  Kit topics included: Mindful Glitter Jar, Mealtime Manners/Tea Time, Gratitude and Thank You notes, Backyard Tailgate Olympics, Clean it like you Mean It, Nutrition Labels and Portions, Recycled Magazine paper crafts, Mini Zen Garden, Outdoor Summer Fun/Water Safety, Family Olympics.  Several new-to-Extension community members began participating after seeing these kits advertised on the Family and Consumer Science Extension social media platforms.  One family with four children shared that “this has made their day and gave them something fun to look forward to doing.”   

The Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent remained committed to offering accessible programs and services for farmers and home owners.  Over 26 soil tests, 5 plant disease diagnostics and 5 private pesticide cards were conducted/issued during this time.  The spring season is incredibly busy time of year for farmers and homeowners, regardless of COVID-19. In April, the Agriculture and Natural Resources Program conducted a tree giveaway, consisting of 350 total trees of 7 different varieties, allowing families to safely collect these at their convenience from outside the Extension Facility.  Families were very appreciative of this and one individual commented that the family “spent time outdoors with their children planting trees and making memories”. During the COVID-19 closures, producers have commented saying that they “appreciate the continued service that we have provided in these trying times”.