From WOOD COUNTY CLOVER LEGACY FOUNDATION
The Wood County Clover Legacy Foundation is proud to announce the 2022 Inspire Kids to Do grant recipients. Eight Wood County 4-H Clubs were funded a total of $3,400 to complete community service in the category areas of Head, Heart, Hands, Health which is directly related to the 4-H mission. The projects are youth lead, working and learning in partnership with caring adults. A summary of the club projects is below. Congratulations to these eight 4-H clubs for making the best better! Information for the 2023 grant funding season is found at cloverlegacy.org.
Duke’s Mixture 4-H Club
Community service is a key pillar of the 4-H program. In that spirit, the Duke’s Mixture 4-H Club finds a project where they can put their “hands to larger service” each year. This year, the club made the decision to assist in making improvements to the Wood County Fairgrounds, a place where they spend so much time and which brings members a great deal of joy. One of the improvements specified by the Wood County Agricultural Society was to repaint the Pork-a-Lean stand. Pork-a-Leans are a very popular fair food, and this building is a staple on the fairgrounds! After an advisor power washed the building and purchased the necessary amount of paint and paint supplies, they made plans to repaint the building after a regularly scheduled meeting in May. Because so many members and parents helped, they were able to repaint the building in just a few hours! To add to that, the weather was beautiful, and everyone had fun painting! They hope to complete more projects like this in the future.
All Tacked Up 4-H Club
Members of All Tacked Up identified a need to improve the photography area at the Horse Arena on the fairgrounds. The project proved to be much more involved than originally planned. The club worked with adult volunteers and community donors to rebuild the area. Old boards and wood paneling were removed. Metal siding was installed, a sign erected, and decorative planters and mulch added. Members worked together as a team and learned invaluable lessons as the project progressed and adjustments had to be made. The result is a beautiful area for all 4-H members with horse projects to take photographs.
Leaders of Tomorrow 4-H Club
Leaders of Tomorrow decided to continue their successful postal project from last year. Members enjoyed creating crafts and cards for members of their community who are older or lonely, wanting to brighten their day. At the beginning of each meeting members created a craft and a card for their postal pal. Twenty-four community members received 5 greetings from 5 different members. The final card included a picture of the member with their 4-H project and was hand delivered. Members also made 24 potted flower recipe holders for the Senior Smiles project. These projects helped members understand the importance of community and thinking of others as well as learning to use their hands for larger service.
Champion Drive 4-H Club
Champion Drive chose to make improvements to baseball and softball facilities in the Elmwood School District. This project was selected by the members because the majority of them have or are still playing on these fields. They wanted other kids to be able to enjoy safe and well-kept facilities. They also felt this project would encompass the 4 H’s—Head, Heart, Health, and Hands. The goal was to repair the viewing deck and dugout at the high school. At Cygnet they worked on staining and repairing the deck. This is a work in progress with the goal to complete in the spring of 2023.
Simply Stock 4-H Club
Members of Simply Stock wanted to enrich the fair experience for young fair goers. They worked together to create children’s activity and coloring books that included basic livestock and agriculture facts. Coloring stations were set up in the Livestock Pavilion and were managed by club members. Two thousand books and 4 crayon packs were distributed during the fair. Stickel Farms and BG Alliance Church also contributed to help make this project a reality.
Colorful Clovers 4-H Club
Colorful Clovers brainstormed community concerns and decided to address the problem of food insecurity. They met with the manager of the Food Pantry at First United Methodist Church and together they decided to provide personal care items. These are items that clients frequently don’t have the means to purchase, and the food pantry budget cannot cover. The goal was to pack 50 boxes of personal care items for the home delivery participants of the Food Pantry. Members conducted a donation event to collect items. Additional items were purchased with the grant funds. Members then met to decorate and pack boxes as well as write personal notes to put in each box. Boxes were then delivered to participants during the August Food Distribution.
Gold Medal 4-H Club
Gold Medal chose to teach community members about 4-H and encourage them to join a 4-H Club. They collaborated with Way Library in Perrysburg to develop a plan. The club purchased 18 books which relate back to topics covered in 4-H projects. Each member chose a book related to a project they enjoyed. During the month of November these books were on display in the library, along with pictures of 4-H project books and information on how to contact the county 4-H office. The club also hosted a 4-H information table to talk to families about 4-H and its benefits. Members were excited about this opportunity to spread the word about 4-H and the positive impact it has on members and volunteers.
Lake Harvesters 4-H Club
The Lake Harvesters 4-H Club collaborated with Lake Township, Renewed Outdoors and Wood County Clover Legacy Foundation to provide and install new mulch at Moline Meadows Park. The park was in great need for new playground mulch and there were no plans to provide it. Members felt that this was a great way to give back to their community. Over 30 club members and their families came out on a Sunday in November to pull weeds, lay new weed barriers, install mulch, and rake leaves. They hope that this project allows many children from their own community to enjoy the playground. They made the best better by showing their community what amazing work 4-H’ers can accomplish together.
