During their next retreat in late March they will prepare a presentation to propose to the National 4-H Council “Dolphin Tank” competition. The six 4-H Healthy Living Ambassadors unanimously decided to address food insecurity this year and will be further exploring policy, systems, and environmental change approaches they can advocate for at the individual, regional, state, and federal levels.
They are learning how they can be advocates for school wellness and serve as peer influencers to their classmates as they set goals to switch what they do, view, and chew. Forty-five youth from seven schools are gathering virtually for the SWITCH Youth Ambassador Summit.In 2020, the program’s first year, Gardening to Give reached over 1,000 individuals across Iowa and the United States. Registered participants receive educational resources monthly during this eight-month, immersive learning experience. Iowa 4-H Youth Development has launched Gardening to Give, a hands-on educational gardening program designed for all ages and abilities.They coached food pantries through a Nutrition Environment Food Pantry Assessment Tool process and helped them develop action plans to make healthy choices easier for pantry clients. The specialists also established a coalition working toward improving healthy food access in the Council Bluffs area. More than 5,300 boxes that included meat, dairy, and fresh produce were distributed. Healthy food access specialists promoted and facilitated the distribution of USDA Farm to Family boxes to families in nine rural counties.Evaluations from a February class speak to the effectiveness of the training: 95% of participants understand how cultivating individual wellness and health supports the health of the couple relationship 90% of participants understand how couples can foster a sense of couple identity 100% of participants reported as a result of the course they are confident helping individuals and couples to support healthy living choices and become better connected to support systems. Specialists in family life have begun presenting Healthy Relationship and Marital Education Training virtually.More than 2,000 volunteer hours were spent in training, studying, and testing tax preparation scheduling and site coordination program promotion including developing and distributing marketing and mailings and commute time. These families claimed $1,031,472 in Earned Income Tax Credit on returns filed. During the 2019 filing season they trained 56 volunteers who served 1,243 Iowa families including older adults, people with low to moderate income, or people who have a disability. Specialists in family finance continue to support the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.Updates from the ISU Extension and Outreach leadership team Human Sciences
0 kommentar(er)
