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Kelly kicked off January with writing and recording virtual education videos as part of a statewide FoodWIse initiative to provide alternative options for reaching 3rd-5th grade youth. These virtual ed. “playlists”, consisting of short videos full of fun MyPlate information, will be offered to community partners working with these age groups. These will also serve as an introduction of Kelly to the kids and their families. She continued the thread of youth programming by observing virtual Head Start 4K Color Me Healthy lessons, and beginning a Healthy Schools Bootcamp towards future policy, systems, and environmental FoodWIse initiatives aimed at improving health of school-age youth.
Shifting to adults, Kelly co-piloted her first class for Washington County participants, working with a Fond du Lac FoodWIse Educator to teach a virtual MyPlate lesson to adults at The Threshold on January 21st. Following the lesson, participants reported intentions to eat fruits and vegetables with their meals.
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Developing City of West Bend's Strategic Plan
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In 2020, the mayor of the City of West Bend contacted Paul to facilitate a process to create a set of decision-making filters that align with the values of the West Bend community, the purpose of government operations, and the desired future the City wants to achieve.
To achieve this objective, Paul facilitated a five month process that engaged elected and pointed officials, department heads, and citizen representatives. The process included the development of mission and vision statements for government operations, prioritized goals, funding priorities, and operating guidelines to accomplish goals. Together, these items will be used to assist future decision-making.
Paul compiled a final report and presented it during the December 21st Common Council meeting. At the conclusion of the presentation, the mayor publically thanked Paul for his efforts. Paul also attended the January 4th Common Council meeting and to answer follow-up questions. As a result of this follow-up, the Common Council unanimously approved the plan and an article was published as a front page headline in the Daily News on January 6th.
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Calling All Youth Artists
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 For the last five months, 4-H Program Educators from Fond du Lac, Ozaukee, and Washington County have been meeting virtually with youth from the three counties to plan the first Tri-County Visual Arts Festival.
4-H is a positive youth development program that values youth and adult partnerships and the youth are truly partners in planning this event. The youth on the planning committee participate fully in each meeting, chose the theme, the format, and helped secure the funding from their respective Leaders Associations.
The Tri-County Visual Arts Festival committee is inviting all youth (kindergarten - one year out of high school) in the three counties to enter artwork into the contest. Artwork must be submitted digitally by Monday, February 15th. In addition to the artwork, youth are asked to answer reflection questions, as reflection is key to experiential learning and one of the cornerstones of 4-H.
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Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!
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Positive Youth Development
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Ron presented on Team Building Development to the Youth Futures' Youth Committee w/ 10 youth and 2 adult sponsors attending. The presentation was positively received; an adult sponsor stated “she valued how the fun activities all had a ‘teachable moment’ about teamwork”. Ron will continue with the ongoing series (monthly) engaging these youth in team development to assist the group in achieving their goals. Ron also attended the January Youth Futures Adult Board meeting which is working on the February Parent Chat workshop and youth engagement activities.
Ron is working with Fair Park Elementary School to bring classroom workshops that focus on Social Emotional Learning standards that the school seeks to achieve. Ron’s outreach efforts included informational sessions (and scheduling) with staff from The Family Center of Washington County and Big Brothers/Big Sisters to bring educational sessions to their youth and adults.
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Partnering with Forward Careers to Provide Financial Education Component
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Human Development & Relationships
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Money Matters Online Program – Money Matters is an online self-study Extension financial program that is available to anyone in the community statewide and can be designed as a built in component with an existing or new agency program. The program coordinator at Forward Careers contacted Carol searching for a financial education program that would fulfill the educational requirement for the Work ‘N Wheels vehicle loan program implemented in fall 2020 for Washington, Ozaukee, and Waukesha residents. Due to the pandemic, an online program would best meet the needs of the applicants.
Carol developed a specific program description, participant directions and organization procedures. Participants complete the required module quizzes: Your Financial Strengths, Making a Spending Plan, Credit Scores and Credit Reports and When You Can’t Pay Your Bills. A financial coaching session provides an opportunity for the participant to plan financial goals and action steps, ask questions from the online modules and learn more about local resources. Participants receive a certificate of completion. Since November 2020, there have been 5 individuals who have completed the Money Matters Program.
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Providing Timely Farm Management Education Using YouTube
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The Extension Farm Management Program launched their new Farm Management Fridays series this January as part of the broader Agriculture Institute’s Farm Ready Research series. This farm management series will be held on various Fridays from January through May as YouTube livestreams and then will transition to a newsletter through the spring and summer. Stephanie is co-leading the webinar series and the newsletter release. In January three sessions were held: Navigating Your Farm Business Through 2021, In It for the Long Haul…Cash Flow During a Crisis, and Farm-Gate Economic Outlook Forum. Two hundred and five people viewed the webinars live. The sessions were recorded and closed captioned so they could be released publicly. The videos continue to be viewed online, and the evaluations are currently being captured. Total views for the three webinars is currently 311.
Stephanie will be speaking at both of the February sessions on farm succession. See a full list of topics and register at: go.wisc.edu/FarmReadyResearch
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