By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Everyone who purchases a 4-H milkshake at the Wood County Fair or National Tractor Pulling Championships is actually getting a twofer.
At the moment of purchase, they enjoy the sweet, cool creaminess of their flavor of choice. After the fact, that milkshake turns into birthday boxes for a local food pantry to distribute, a patriotically decorated box where local residents can retire worn-out flags, and hundreds of coloring books and crayons for young fairgoers to learn about agriculture.
The Wood County Clover Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit organization that oversees donations to the Wood County 4-H Youth Development Program, created Inspire Kids to Do grants “to give back to the community that supports the 4-H program,” said Ashley Vetter, president of the foundation.
A percentage of the funds raised through the 4-H Milkshake Barn, the fair’s 4-H Bake-Off and from other donations, are awarded to selected 4-H clubs that have submitted project proposals.
“We want the community to know that because they are buying our milkshakes, the clubs are doing good in the communities,” said Donna Arnold, a member of the foundation’s grants committee.
The Inspire Kids to Do grants offer up to $500 to Wood County 4-H clubs for projects that make a difference in the community in one of the four “H” areas: Head, to be educational in nature; Heart, to enhance leadership skills and opportunities; Hands, to address a need in the community; and Health, to support health and wellness within the community or clubs.
This year, 10 clubs participated and received nearly $3,600 in grants. The projects included birthday bags to Otsego Food Pantry, Senior Smiles, Honor Flight, first aid kids for livestock barns, supplies and labor for Build A Bed charity, a painted wagon at Carter Historical Farm, dog run supplies for The Cocoon, baseball bleacher improvements in Risingsun, kids’ activity books for fairgoers, and mats and tie-out loops for the fairgrounds horse arena.
Dog-gone great project
Thanks to the grant, Portage Valley 4-H Club provided water bowls, toys and three steel dog waste disposal stations donated for the Cocoon’s new outdoor dog run. The club partnered with the domestic violence agency to support the dog-run concept, said club Adviser Shanna Taylor, who is also a Cocoon board member.
The Cocoon is one of only a few shelters in the country that allows survivors to bring pets to the shelter with them, Taylor said. The outdoor dog run is being built through collaboration among local organizations and an Eagle Scout project.
All of the club members from third graders to high school seniors voted to support the project after Taylor proposed the idea to the club.
“Supporting a dog run felt like a great fit,” she said. “Many of our club members have pets and felt empathetic toward the idea of helping owners keep their pets at the shelter.”
Morgan Cully, club president, and Carrie Brinker, who took a cat project this year, helped write the grant , which was approved to fund the dog run supplies.
Clubs make Seniors Smile
Two 4-H clubs—Colorful Clovers and Farmcrafters—chose to use grants to continue their efforts in support of projects initiated by the OSU Extension Wood County 4-H Office.
“Our kids love the Senior Smiles countywide project” that delivers goodie bags to homebound seniors who receive meals from the Wood County Committee on Aging, said Arnold, who is also an adviser for Colorful Clovers 4-H. The club has been involved with Senior Smiles since it started in 2022.
This year, the members wanted to put more items into the Senior Smiles bags than their club treasury would allow. Members brainstormed ideas that would appeal to senior citizens, researched the cost and requested $250 to help them purchase the extra items: a puzzle book, stamped stationery, lotion, ChapStick, lotion, and pop-it.
Members had fun decorating and packaging the bags for the seniors and hoped the special touches delivered even more joy this year.
Every year, the Farmcrafters 4-H Club does at least one service project, such as cleaning gravestones and making blankets, said Reagan DeLamatre, a nine-year member and the social media coordinator for the club.
“This year the club voted, and it was unanimous, to participate in Senior Smiles, the project that was suggested by the 4-H office,” she said.
The project became an inclusive and fun activity for members, advisers, and even some parents. Some members were responsible for making sure all the grant-funded supplies were available, and other members created examples before the activity that was part of a club meeting.
“Everyone was encouraged to decorate gift bags, make greeting cards or create bead art to be included in the Senior Smiles bags,” DeLamatre said. “We knew if the members spent the time to create thoughtful messages it would have a much bigger impact on the recipients.”
In addition to the good feeling members got from pledging “My Hands to Larger Service,” the activity had all ages working together on the projects. “The older members were helping the younger ones, and the younger members helped to inspire creativity in the older members,” she said.
Restoring a farm wagon for the Carter Historic Farm
The Inspire Kids to Do grant was the perfect opportunity for the Haskins Clover Crew to help the Carter Historic Farm, said Adviser Rachael London.
The farm, which is part of the Wood County Park District, had asked if the club could restore a bright blue grain wagon to a more historical color by painting the wagon red and black. London and co-adviser Shannon Lehsten presented the idea to pursue a grant for the wagon project, and members approved unanimously.
The grant paid for all the materials including the paint, brushes and tools, while the members provided the hands.
“The club was all-hands-on-deck, with members, from age 9 to 18, and their families working together to paint the grain cart,” London said. “We volunteered our time to help with a service need in the community.”
The project required several hours of scraping and painting to transform the wagon into a traditional barn-red color.
“Everyone was excited to see the work completed and amazed to see how good it looked,” she said. After the work, they toured the farm to see how the wagon would be used on the historic working farm.
Dowling Stitch, Stir, and Stock
Members of Dowling Stitch, Stir and Stock 4-H Club volunteered during a “Build Event” for “Let’s Build a Bed” at the St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stoney Ridge.
“Let’s Build a Bed” is a non-profit organization that wants to make sure every child in NW Ohio has a place to sleep. The “Build Event” provided safe equipment and tools that turned a pile of lumber into a bed for a child. Dowling Stitch, Stir, and Stock, sponsored two beds and helped build beds with other volunteers.
A nod to patriotism, veterans and the American flag
The Klassy Kids 4-H Club has focused special attention on military veterans in past years. They have made greeting cards, written letters to service members and sent cookies overseas, said Laura Westgate, club adviser.
Extending the veterans and patriotism theme this year, the club, which is made up of various ages, decided to pursue an Inspire Kids to Do grant to purchase and decorate a flag retirement box, as suggested by Jessi Long, one of the advisers.
“We aim to find a cause where the kids can make a difference and also learn from the experience,” Westgate said. “The grant is a great way to learn the value of giving back.”
As part of the project members learned what the flag represents and about proper disposal. All members were asked to submit a design for the box; Henry Engard submitted the winning design. Members then helped with the decoration process to complete the box.
The project is ongoing as the official dedication has been delayed until later this fall. Members will continue to learn flag facts throughout the next year, and they plan to work with Dick Zulch to host a ceremony before the 2025 Wood County Fair.
Accessible first aid at county fair
The County Roots 4-H Club saw a need at the county fair and decided to act. Club members had noticed that as junior fair members prepare their animals for show, set up or take down animal pens or project booths, they might experience a minor cut or scrape, explained Sara Foos, co-adviser with Katie Ward.
They sought grant funds to create basic first aid kits with antiseptic, band-aids and gauze to be placed in livestock barns around the fairgrounds. “The Inspire Kids to Do grant provides a means for putting our hands to larger service in our communities,” she said. “It is a positive way to plan and implement for a community project.”
The club is large, so a small committee oversaw the project, from writing the grant, ordering supplies, putting together and installing the kits, as well as taking them down for inventory and future use, Foos said.
The club was able to put into action, “our hands to larger service (community service) and our health to better living (health and wellness),” she said.
“I love the way the grant works because much of it is funded through the spinning of 4-H milkshakes at the fair, in which our members have had a hand in producing,” she said. Then they get to turn around and apply for a grant, and if funded, they can put their plan into action.
The kits were used at the fair and many parents expressed appreciation for having access to the kits in the barns. “In doing good, we all feel successful and rewarded for carrying out the task,” she said.
Beaver Creek Boosters’ Birthday Boxes
Beaver Creek Booster’s service-learning committee, consisting of seven 9 to 11-year-olds, dreamed up the idea to create birthday boxes to donate to the Otsego Food Pantry, an organization that directly impacts the local community, said Janel Gerwin, co-adviser for the club.
Under the motto, “learning by doing,” Gerwin said the birthday bags project was appropriate for the committee members. They were responsible for planning, shopping and assembling the birthday boxes.
The grant allowed them to purchase items for a family birthday celebration, such as aluminum cake pans, oil, frosting, sprinkles, streamers, and gift cards, enough for 10 birthday boxes.
When they delivered the boxes to the pantry, the members learned more about the food pantry and how it serves the needs of the Otsego community.
“The project allowed the members to practice essential life skills of planning, budgeting and communicating,” Gerwin said. “Members enjoyed the project because they were involved from the beginning to the end.”
Hands to larger service
Simply Stock 4-H Club planned two activities to put their hands to larger service in the 2024 4-H year, said club Adviser Erin Stickel.
The club reached out to the Risingsun Little League to renovate the bleachers at the baseball field. The grant was used to purchase sanding and painting supplies, and paint, and the members, advisers and families donated their time to sand and paint three sets of bleachers with seven surfaces per set, she said.
The second project was to continue an agricultural advocacy project by providing crayons and activity books that include agriculture facts and games. The grant funded the paper and crayons, and Penta Career Center provided the printing.
The books were free to all, targeting children eight and younger. Throughout the fair, members of the club restocked the books and crayons.
A safer, accessible environment for horses at the fair
Wood’N Horses wanted to create a safer and more accessible environment for the horses and riders that use the facilities at the Wood County fairgrounds. They decided they wanted to revamp the horse department’s wash racks at the Wood County Fairgrounds.
As one of the Inspire Kids to Do grant recipients for 2024, the club used the grant to cover costs for the project. They attached rubber mats to the existing concrete wall to ensure limited injury to horses and riders. They also added new tie-loops for the horses, also designed for a safer environment.
The 11 club members worked on the wash racks on two Saturdays during the summer. As a “learn by doing” project, members learned to use power tools safely and how to work together to install the mats. A safer and more accessible environment was provided for horses and their riders this year at the fair thanks to the project completed by the club.
Get ready for the easy 2025 grants process
The grants will be offered again in 2025, and the foundation grants committee is hoping to encourage more 4-H clubs to participate, Arnold said.
The committee is expanding the parameters a bit for 2025. In addition to clubs submitting proposals for a grant, the committee is allowing 4-H teams to apply for grants. “A team can be two or more 4-H members from the same or different clubs,” she explained. The team must have an approved 4-H volunteer as a mentor for the project.
Whether a club or a team wants to apply for up to $500, Arnold said the process is easy. A session at the 4-H Adviser Training in 2025 will explain the process.
To apply for a grant, a type-written narrative of no more than 500 words must be submitted that describes the project, explains the goals and plans for measuring success as well as an estimate of costs, the amount requested and an indicator of financial need.
There are three deadlines to apply: April 30, June 30 or August 30, though funds are limited and will be provided on a first come, first served basis. Groups that are selected must also provide a final report after the project is completed.
“The application process is concise and simple, and the turnaround time for the application results and subsequent funds in hand are extremely timely,” said Country Roots Adviser Sara Foos. “The grants allow clubs to proceed with project plans as the excitement from the club is still palpable.”
“The hardest part is coming up with ideas,” Vetter said, which is why the foundation is encouraging local organizations that have service projects they need help with to reach out to 4-H clubs or the Wood County 4-H office.
“The impact from profits made from donations and milkshake sales can be spread through projects that are important to 4-H members all over northwest Ohio,” Vetter said. “It gives the members community pride. Maybe they aren’t showing livestock at the fair, but they got to contribute and learn by doing a hands-on project.”
Many of the club advisers find the project to be a good activity for members to learn from during a club meeting, she said. “And it’s funded!”
“Members gain lifelong learning about volunteering and service learning,” Arnold said. “They gain an understanding about the needs in their communities and how to answer those needs.”
The project was a good experience for members and advisers, said Shanna Taylor, Portage Valley 4-H adviser. “We already have some ideas for next year that will let our members be more hands-on.”
Clubs should consider applying for a grant “because of the bigger picture the project represents,” said Klassy Kids Adviser Laura Westgate. “Finding creative ways to help kids experience the joy of giving back is fulfilling to not only the children but to us adults too.”
