Last month hundreds Franklin County 4-H’ers and community members teamed up to serve central Ohio at the annual 4-H Walk & Serve, a free hands-on service fair where participants could volunteer for 15 local nonprofits, all in one place! Held on Saturday, April 16 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds, 20 Franklin County 4-H clubs hosted booths highlighting each of the local nonprofits, enabling guests to learn more about that organization and create much-needed items to benefit their work. More than 2,000 individual community service projects were completed that day – from cat toys for the Capital Area Humane Shelter to fleece blankets for children in foster care to “soup-er” goodie bags benefiting military families served by the MASH Food Pantry. Click here to read the complete impact report.
- 30 activity mats, benefiting patients through the Alzheimer's Association of Central Ohio
- 205 durable fleece cat toys and 150 handmade thank-you notes for the Capital Area Humane Shelter
- 85 fleece hats for those in need through Clintonville Beechwold Resource Center
- 100 rice-filled socks used as hot/cold packs, benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- 31 fleece blankets for children in the foster care system, through My Very Own Blanket and Touch of Comfort
- 115 keychains for Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation 5K participants and 58 picture frames for pediatric patients Patches of Light
- 80 children’s activity bags for patients through Patches of Light
- 200 “We Care Kits” for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House
- 116 tote bags were decorated and filled with games, puzzles, and activities for pediatric cancer patients through the
- 210 stuffed animal toys to be given away by local First Responders through Touching Little Lives
- 400 colorful paper flowers for Special Olympics participants
- 75 "soup-er" bags filled with ingredients for Tortilla Soup, a recipe card, and a note of appreciation for local military families served by the MASH Food Pantry
- 96 goodie bags to be sent to troops on active duty through Buckeye Military Moms
- 2 activity boards, 15 visual schedules, 400 photos for communication and reading materials, and 1,000 sheets of paper were prepared to teachers who work with autistic children through the Step by Step Academy
- 1,500 plastic grocery bags were transformed into waterproof “plarn” mats to benefit individuals experiencing homelessness through the Mat Makers ministry
With the support of several community partners, the 4-H Walk & Serve was free for guests to participate. In addition, more than 90 runners stretched their legs at the new Clover 5K Run/Walk held prior to the main community service fair. Registration fees from the 5K helped to offset the cost of supplies needed to create the service projects.