Our Impact
Making a Difference in Our County
We're working hard for the citizens we serve even through a pandemic. Here are some examples of successful projects from the past year:
Adulting 101: Summer Session
Summary
A UGA Extension 4-H educator team, worked with 4-H professionals from Penn State University and Nebraska State University to design six one-hour grab and go Adulting 101 lessons to engage youth in learning adulting skills. Adulting 101 is an educational series for teens led by Extension 4-H educators that teaches youth valuable life skills that are often not taught in the classroom.
Situation
The 4-H staff conducted several needs assessments through discussion with community stakeholders, teachers, parents, and students about the lack of understanding of the process to prepare for post-secondary education, the varied diversity of career pathway options, lack of youth developing soft skills to prepare for the workforce, and youth needing to learn general life skills to prepare for the future. In addition, the Georgia Department of Education also saw a need for life skill development and career readiness which led to the development of the College and Career Readiness Performance Index. In 2013, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal unveiled the College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) as a tool to exempt the state of Georgia from the No Child Left Behind Act and to prepare students for life after high school. “CCRPI is a comprehensive school improvement, accountability, and communication platform for all educational stakeholders that will promote college and career readiness for all Georgia public school students.” (Georgia Department of Education). The 4-H staff also recognized the need for “adulting” skills with 4-H youth. Students often graduate high school with a wealth of academic knowledge yet lack basic skills to live on their own without day to day parental support. The need for adulting workshops was apparent. “Adulting refers to being a responsible adult such as paying bills, cooking and cleaning, having health insurance, and maintaining a savings account. It also means knowing how to have healthy relationships and how to be a professional when interviewing for a job.” (Study International 2020) It is believed that the reason today’s youth are lacking adulting skills is the over- emphasis on academics from an early age compared to previous generations.
Response
To combat this issue, the UGA Extension 4-H educator team, worked with 4-H professionals from Penn State University and Nebraska State University to design six one-hour grab and go Adulting 101 lessons to engage youth in learning adulting skills. Adulting 101 is an educational series for teens led by Extension 4-H educators that teaches youth valuable life skills that are often not taught in the classroom. Objectives of the monthly lessons include teaching youth cooking skills, budgeting skills, relationship best practices, mental health care, basic house cleaning, automotive care, and emergency preparedness. The team’s goal is for youth to be prepared to handle the demands of not only the workforce they enter, but also the demands of running a functioning household as an adult. The Adulting 101: Grab and Go lessons were taught during a one-day, multi-county summer program.
Impact
During the summer of 2023, 19 youth attended a one-day multi county summer program. Attendees were evaluated at the end of the day to document the impact of the program. The components of the program played a key role in educating students on valuable life skills to prepare them for life after high school. The evaluation results showed the following data: - Skills Learned: o95% indicated that they learned how to follow steps o68% indicated that they learned the importance of asking questions o74% indicated that they learned the importance of testing ideas o95% indicated they learned better problem-solving skills o95% indicated that they were able to apply creativity o84% indicated that they felt more confident communicating results o68% indicated that they were able to use evidence to draw conclusions o90% indicated that they learned better how to work with their peers o84% indicated that through the lessons they were able to be curious -95% agreed or strongly agreed that they liked learning life skills. -90% agreed or strongly agreed that they wanted to continue learning life skills -One participant stated that they will use the information learned during the Adulting 101 lessons “to help my family with housework not and use all this info when I leave home.”
Rainbow Nutrition Program Combats Picking Eating
Summary
Rockdale County Cooperative Extension offers an innovative rainbow-themed nutrition program that reached nearly 6,400 people since 2017. The program continues to evolve and adapt to the needs of the community, as seen with new school-based programs for nearly 2,400 elementary students. The short interactive demos and taste tests continue to affect the health of the community in a whimsical yet substantive way.
Situation
The CDC reports that <10% of Americans (both adults and children) consume enough produce daily, particularly vegetables. This is problematic, as diets high in nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables can help with maintaining a healthy weight and reducing the risk for chronic disease. Childhood obesity currently affects one in five school-aged children. Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption can be hard for families with barriers including “picky eating”, limited resources, and lack of time or skills for preparation. For these reasons, programs that encourage more produce consumption are necessary for all ages to improve the health of the community.
Response
Rockdale County Extension aims to show healthy eating can be fun and doable for everyone through the Rockdale Eats a Rainbow (REaR) program. REaR used research-based techniques for addressing picky eating through interactive food demos with youth participation, taste tests, and produce giveaways. Upon experiencing the family-oriented program at the library, a teacher invited Rockdale Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) Extension to replicate the program for the entire student body throughout the school year.
Impact
Since 2017, FFF has reached nearly 2,900 people through sessions at the library with an average weekly attendance of 85 in 2023. For the first time since COVID, some weekly sessions cracked 100 participants! Additionally, REaR continues to reach new families with 70% of registrants citing never attending before. Summer averages showed 38 people tried the produce of the week for the first time and 82% of kids loved or liked the recipes, such as pineapple salsa, roasted cabbage, and cucumber smoothies. At C.J Hicks Elementary, all grade levels gave up instructional time for food-based learning three times throughout the year (18 sessions). Over 2,400 students were able to sample vegetable-forward cultural foods including Three Sisters’ Stew and Cauliflower Chickpea Masala. Teachers collected taste test forms and 66% of students loved or liked the recipes. The school fully funded one of the demos through a Georgia SHAPE Grant, giving $900 towards program supplies. Fall harvest assemblies are planned for 2023. Testimonies • “It has helped to give kids ownership over fun and healthy eating decisions. My youngest daughter likes to pretend she is MaryBeth and explains her reasoning for her ingredients and processes. Our girls (9 and 14) have become more adventurous eaters and are more interested in making meals and snacks in the kitchen that are healthy.” -Mom of two, including 9-year-old with auditory processing disorder • “It has made my son open to try new things and motivated him to want to try and make things.” -Parent of REaR attendee • “He only ever eats Lunchables and he’s asking for thirds of the Three Sisters’ Stew!” -Pre-K Teacher at C.J. Hicks • “It was an honor to host UGA Extension this year, where we taught students about native planting culture, fall and spring harvest vegetables, and showed them that we can get hands-on and connect with our food. The high number of kids who loved and liked the recipes is saying a lot, being that they were vegan and culturally unfamiliar recipes to most students at our school.” -Sarah Davie, Agriculture and Sustainability teacher at C.J. Hicks