Pike County 4-H Group Wins Ohio Community Service Award

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(Pike OSU Extension) – A state award has come to Pike County’s Farm-N-Friends 4-H Club, winning the Ohio Community Service Award.

The Farm-N-Friends 4-H Club, led by advisors Cyndi Wallace, Beth Johnson, and Jessy Mustard saw a need in Pike County and have helped fill the gap. With a near 20% poverty rate in Pike County, many families struggle to have basic necessities, and many 4-H families cannot afford to purchase appropriate show clothes for their children to wear while showing their animals at the county fair. The Farm-N-Friends 4-H Club wanted to give everyone the opportunity to look their best on show day, and began collecting donations of jeans, shirts, boots, and belts to kick off this project in 2019. Two clothing racks were donated to display the clothes, and a display was set up where youth can help themselves to find something that fits and borrow what they need. If an exhibitor needs show clothes or boots, they can stop by the Farm-N-Friends booth in the 4-H exhibit hall during the fair and borrow any clothes they need for their show and return them to the booth in the provided clothes hampers when they are finished.

Cyndi, Beth, and Jessy take turns taking home the dirty clothes each day to wash and return them the next day so someone else can use them. Since starting this project in 2019, the collection has grown tremendously, and two additional clothing racks were donated to hold the attire. New socks are donated annually as well, and the youth do not need to return those – they can be kept. This community clothing closet is well-received and much appreciated by all the beneficiaries. Cyndi, Beth, and Jessy wash two to three loads of this laundry each day during fair week.

More than 60 pairs of jeans, 120 shirts, and dozens of pairs of boots, shoes, and belts have been donated to the Farm-N-Friends Community Closet project since 2019, with a many items washed and reused daily throughout the week of the Pike County Fair. Countless youth have benefitted from this well-received program that recycles outgrown show ring attire so that others in need don’t have to worry about the expense of purchasing show clothes. After a post on the Ohio State – Pike County 4-H Facebook page that was shared 136 times by 4-H members and supporters throughout the state, we have learned that numerous other clubs throughout Ohio and even in other states have replicated this idea to help families in need.