The COVID-19 pandemic was a public health crisis that halted the daily routines for nearly all of us. One of the biggest impacts was on our youth and our school systems. Students were sent home to finish out the school year virtually. While we were staying “Healthy at Home,” the Hancock County 4-H program had to discover a new way to reach local youth and families.

The Tuesday Take and Make Kits were created to reach our youth who were sent home from school and into a situation no one could have predicted. The free kits were set out at various locations around the county on Tuesdays. Nearly 500 kits were prepared and distributed. All kits contained activities for youth and families, physical activity ideas and items, a project to be completed (most of which could be entered in our modified county fair), lessons from 4-H curriculum areas ranging from horticulture, Science, Engineering and Technology, and Communications and Expressive Arts, and nutrition information with recipes. The kits were a collaborative effort and partnership with Hancock County Extension, 4-H, Nutrition Education Program, Hancock County Public Library, and the Hancock County Youth Service Center.

One parent said, “I appreciate the effort Hancock County 4-H has taken to reach out to us during this pandemic. Picking up these kits and doing them as a family, has been very important to us. It is the only contact we have had outside our home in several months.”