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Mady picked, juiced, and made jelly from local fruit. She was able to sell 100 jars of jelly, donating the proceeds to the Sandhills Cancer Fund. She was able to exceed her goal of $800 and donated $1000!

Date of Service: 10/19/2023

Number of Volunteers: 1

Total Hours: 100

Dollar Value of Donations: $1,000

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Bellevue Do More Learn More: Veterans Day Parade

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Bellevue Do More Learn More: Veterans Day Parade

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Bellevue Do More Learn More, was invited to help in Bellevue Veterans Day Parade. They were in charge of holding the banner for the parade's Grand Marshals; Retired Air Force Col. Joe Spivey was this year’s grand marshal. Spivey served in the Air Force for more than 25 years and currently serves as president of the 55th Wing Association, the wing’s alumni organization.

Date of Service: 11/11/2023

Number of Volunteer Hours: 12

Total Hours: 24

Dollar Value of Donations: N/A

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The Phelps County 4-H Council hosted the 2023 4-H Kids Fest. The Kids Fest is open to the entire community to celebrate and promote 4-H. The need to help supply the local food pantry was identified. The council advertised the event for a $5 entry fee but if anyone brought a canned food item, it only cost $3. The price of entry included all the games, walking tacos, popcorn, and cotton candy. Several Phelps 4-H Clubs hosted a game or activity highlighting a part of 4-H. A petting zoo, shooting trailer, robotics demo, name the dog breed, face painting, ring toss and bingo entertained the approximately 300 people in attendance. The beef for the walking tacos was donated by community partners Scott and Kim Ford, Reed and Taylor Waller and the 37 Cattle Co.

The Phelps County Kids Fest received 237 food items for donation to the Phelps Community Food Pantry! This proves 4-H CAN do amazing things!

Date of Service: 03/03/23
Number of Volunteers: 23
Hours: 92

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Lads and Lassies 4-H Horse Club's Tying For Toddlers

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Lads and Lassies 4-H Horse Club's Tying For Toddlers

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We decided to help out a local non-profit in our county. We chose Blue Valley Community Action because of all the good they do for families who are struggling in our area. Specifically we chose the WIC clinic as they help kids just like us. At our club meeting we voted on how we could help these kids and we decided that we would make them blankets. We cut the fleece to size and cut strips along each edge. We then tied the strips together to finish the edges. We completed 11 blankets and then brought them to the WIC clinic to donate. These blankets were different sizes. Some were smaller to fit over infant carseats. Most of them were larger for the older children that come to the WIC clinic. While we were there we talked with the staff about our 4H club. We learned that there are many other BVCA programs and many ways we could help our community through their work. We plan to volunteer for them again in the future. (Picture 1 is when we dropped the blankets off at the WIC clinic. 4H members are pictured with BVCA staff. Picture 2 & 3 are of us making the blankets. Our 4H club leaders were there to help us and guide us as we worked) (our club consists of: Sandy Krivohlavek- leader, Nancy Keller - leader, Nicole Zurcher- leader, Danielle Meade-Leader, members: Brayden Meade, Brielle Meade, Haley Norman, Avery Zurcher, Alouisa Zurcher, Raina Zurcher, Celestina Zurcher, Alessandro Zurcher)

Date of Service: 04/13/2023
Number of Volunteers: 12

Total Hours: 36
Dollar Value of Donations: $300

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Timbercreek 4-H Club's Donations to over seas serviceman

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Timbercreek 4-H Club's Donations to over seas serviceman

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We organized this event in February 2023 the club members contacted a local serviceman that had been deployed and decided to send items to his entire group. Members went shopping for items, then the members decorated sacks, wrote notes gathered them into a box and sent them off to serviceman stationed near the equator

Date of Service: 03/26/2023
Number of Volunteers: 15
Total Hours: 30
Dollar Value of Donations: $250

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Ansley Jr Livestock 4-H Club's Christmas Cookie Trays to Ansley Food Pantry

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Ansley Jr Livestock 4-H Club's Christmas Cookie Trays to Ansley Food Pantry

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For the last 2 years, Ansley Jr Livestock has purchased supplies and put together cookie baking trays for families that receive weekend food assistance from our community food pantry. Each tray includes a baking sheet, a package of cookie dough mix, a can of frosting, sprinkles, and a few cookie cutters. The need for these baking packages almost doubled from 2021 to 2022!

We believe that every family deserves to enjoy the holidays doing traditional activities. Many of our 4-H members are involved in the baking projects. We hope that these baking packages foster a love creating yummy treats in the kitchen with their families!

Date of Service: 12/04/2022
Number of Volunteers: 25
Hours: 2
Dollar Value of Donations: $450

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Dog Gone Fun 4-H Club's Monetary Donation to the Broken Bow K-9 Project

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Dog Gone Fun 4-H Club's Monetary Donation to the Broken Bow K-9 Project

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Members of the Dog Gone Fun 4-H Club raised funds during the summer of 2022 by selling raffler tickets for a denim quilt that a members grandmother had made. With the money the were able to make a generous donation to the Broken Bow police department. The funds will be used for training and supplies for the current K-9 officer and to save up for investment in a future K-9 officer. In the past, the Dog Gone Fun 4-H Club has donated made and donated hundred of denim toys that are used in scent detection training of the Custer County Sheriff's and Broken Bow police department's K-9 officers. The members really enjoy learning about how these K-9 officers are trained and how they are a vital part to keeping our local community safer.

Read more: https://sandhillsexpress.com/local-news/bb-police-department-k9-unit-receives-donation-from-dog-gone-fun-4h-club/?fbclid=IwAR36NPnOW-mr3x8xOCD5NZPLL6oZT5GAPSw6LRQwhtXm-WBOxzr2a0r1cAU

Date of Service: 10/24/2022
Number of Volunteers: 20
Total Hours: 60
Dollar Value of Donations: $1,400

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Explorers 4-H Club's Mini Gardens for Food Security and Environmental Creation

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Explorers 4-H Club's Mini Gardens for Food Security and Environmental Creation

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Youth 3D print these self watering pots in school colors for places that want to do gardening but do not have the space. The youth have printed over 860 for the public with orders for an additional 160 youth waiting for their own mini garden. Youth from Bellevue Public School and Millard Public School use these to enrich their curriculum. Donors are Papio-Missouri River Natural Resource District, Whole Kids Foundation, Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots, Youth Service America, CAULIPOWER, Nebraska Academy of Science, Nebraska Environmental Trust, WE Volunteer Now, Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, and Friends of Extension and 4H Douglas-Sarpy Counties.

Date of Service: 03/10/2023
Number of Volunteers: 10
Hours: 200
Dollar Value of Donations: $1,000

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Spartan 4-H Club's Snacks, Blankets and Cards

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Spartan 4-H Club's Snacks, Blankets and Cards

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The kids in Bellevue's Spartan 4-H Club wanted to show they care for others who are going through a challenging time. Thirteen club members got together on a Sunday afternoon to make eight tied fleece blankets and create encouraging cards for patients at Children's Hospital in Omaha. The Bellevue Joann's Fabric and Crafts store gave a great deal on the fleece blanket kits and the kids had a great time learning how to complete each step of the project. The 4-Hers' cards were heart-felt and expressed positive messages of hope, healing and support. The nurse at Children's Hospital that received the items was excited to share the cozy blankets and colorful cards with young patients. In addition to the items delivered to the hospital, club members and their families donated homemade S'Mores snack mix, Chex Mix, caramel corn, and a wide variety of beverages that were all donated to the the Carolyn Scott Rainbow House. This facility serves as a "home away from home" for the parents/caregivers and siblings of Children's Hospital patients who live more than 60 miles away from Omaha. The children, parent volunteers and club leaders really enjoyed working together to make, bag and label snacks, and using some muscle power to load up all the beverages for delivery.
As members rotated from one station to the next, (blankets, cards, snacks) their comments about feeling good in taking action to help other kids and families were truly heart-warming.
A BIG "Thank You!" to our parent volunteers that stuck around to help get the job done!

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Rusty Rustlers 4-H Club's Harrop Park Restoration and Maintenance

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Rusty Rustlers 4-H Club's Harrop Park Restoration and Maintenance

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The Rusty Rustler’s 4-H Club is based in Loup County, NE with 48 members enrolled in 2022. Having a club project that benefits our rural community while offering education to ourselves and those we serve have been long standing club goals. The Rusty Rustlers 4-H Club adopted the renovation and maintenance of Harrop Park in 2020, with 6 families sharing the duties. This ongoing annual club project was chosen by club members to meet our club project goals after this need was brought to our attention by a concerned resident.

Harrop Park is an approx. 12 acre park situated between Taylor and Bassett, NE, adjacent to U.S. Hwy 183. The objective of Harrop Park when founded in the early 1980’s was twofold. First, to offer education about native Sandhills rangeland, including it’s animals, plants and management. Secondly, to offer travelers a reststop along this long stretch of highway. Harrop Park also hosts a Nebraska State Historical Marker of the same name and contains one historic gravesite on the property.

Regular maintenance performed by club members (and volunteer family members) include mowing/weedeating the grounds, camping area and nature trail, cleaning the vault restrooms, picking up trash and upkeep of the park’s infrastructure. The Rusty Rustler’s 4-H Club works in partnership on this project with the Loup County Historical Society and Calamus Area Community Fund which help with administrative and larger special project costs at the park.

This past summer of 2022, Harrop Park was an official “stop” on the Nebraska Tourism Passport Program. Over 1200 digital stamps of visitors were recorded over the summer from Harrop Park and many comments were recieved about the beauty of the park as well as the educational information found there, especially on the marked trail. In addition, a guestbook is kept in a repurposed mailbox at the park. This book contains hundreds of signatures from local, regional and out of state visitors over the years. Many visitors have written comments about the unexpected educational opportunity and beauty of the setting at Harrop Park.

In addition to regular maintenance of the grounds, the Rusty Rustler’s are especially proud of replacing one of the old delapidated signs at the park. The sign was donated by one of our 4-H families, a skidsteer (and operator) was also donated by a club family for sign installation and the labor was provided by club members. A detailed outline of donations can be found below. Please see the attached photo to see the finished product!

Another large project was replacing the doorframes and sills on the restroom doors. The original frames had rotted away due to the elements, making it hard for the doors to stay shut. A local business donated funds to hire a carpenter to install the new frames and sills. The cost of materials was covered by the Rusty Rustler’s 4-H club with money raised from selling concessions and a couple of generous donations from Loup County residents.

Other projects and events completed by the Rusty Rustler’s at Harrop Park include painting parts of the large picnic shelter, upkeep of the “selfie station” (see attached photo) and holding our own educational meetings at the park. One of our favorite meetings at Harrop Park was learning more about identifying native plants on the trail with the help of an invited rangeland professional, Irene Ihm.

The Rusty Rustler’s have more plans to further beautify Harrop Park next year, such as planting native flowers in the windmill tank that is a central focal point at the park. We also plan to continue having fun potluck suppers, educational meetings and wild waterfights too!!

Donation Type Monetary Value Partner/Sponsor
Sign Project
Large Sign $500.00 Conrad Family
Skid Steer $150.00 Switzer Family

Restroom Doors Project
Labor $375.00 Calamus Outfitters
Materials $130.00 (cash) Rusty Rustler’s
Materials $50.00 Two private donations

General Maintenance by Club Members
Supplies/Gas/ 30 hrs x $15.00/hr= Parents donate transportation to and from Harrop Park
Mowers/etc. $450.00

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4-H Timberwolves' Drinks for Fire and Rescue Stations

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4-H Timberwolves' Drinks for Fire and Rescue Stations

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Our club set a goal to collect 3,000 new water bottles, gatorades, and or powerade for all the fire and recuse stations in Phelps County. The kids wanted to give back in a way that helps all the towns in our county as members from our club live in 3 of the towns. In a 3 week time frame, the kids and parents collected 7,500 bottles! We delivered to the 4 towns on April 2 and got to have a question and answer session with the volunteers at each location to learn about them, why they volunteer, and what they do on calls. I have more pictures to include Holdrege drop off and a couple pictures of what 7,500 drinks looks like if you would like those too. Since these deliveries, we have gotten world from 3 of the 4 fire and rescue halls that these drinks have come in handy a lot lately with all the fire calls they have been on.

Date of Service: 04/02/2022
Number of Volunteers: 24
Total Hours: 200
Dollar Value of Donations: 2,000

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Our club purchased flowers and greenery and used recycled containers and made flower arrangements to deliver to 20 people for May Day.

Date of Service: 05/01/2022
Number of Volunteers: 3
Total Hours: 3
Dollar Value of Donations: $60

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Marely’s Bracelet Giveback started out as a hobby when I first received a clay bead bracelet kit for my birthday from my parents. I really like bracelets and jewelry, so you can imagine that I really enjoy making these bracelets. Designing each bracelet was a lot of fun so I began making some for family members and friends. As I started to run out of beads, I wanted to keep making more, so my mom bought me another kit. I continued making these each time with different colors of beads, and was able to be creative and design some really cool bracelets. It was really fun making up new designs for each bracelet and choosing what colors I would use. I would also look online and see what designs I found there and then started making some of my own designs. My mom found the bead clay sets online at Amazon and I found clear bead ’n’ stretch string at Walmart. I would start with my string and cut off around 8 inches just to give me enough room to work with and be able to knot. Next, I would tie one end of the string and start designing. I would string each bead until I got to a point that I thought it looked good and was able to determine the size that I wanted to make. When I got to the end of the bracelet I would then tie each string together three times to make sure they would be tight and secure. I decided to make small (ages 5-6) medium (6-10) and large (adult) sizes, so that I could include all ages. Each time I made a bracelet for a family member or a friend of mine, I noticed how happy and excited they got. It was a great feeling to know that something I did made their day and put a smile on their face. That was when I thought about making bracelets to give to people who could use a little “pick me up” or just to help turn their day around. I wanted to keep it in my own town of Fairbury, so I thought about a couple different places that something like this project could really benefit.

The first place that I thought of was the Jefferson County Ambulance Department. I spoke to Judd Stewart who is an EMT and works for the ambulance department. He thought that there would be many times that something like this would be a great help and would benefit many different people. Judd told me that they have “Care Bears” which are teddy bears that they carry in the ambulance when they have situations that have children involved and my bracelet giveback would be another thing they could add to it.

The other place that I am going to share my bracelets with is the Fairbury Hope Crisis Center. Carmen Hinman, the Executive Director at the Hope Crisis Center, was very happy to hear about my idea and my project. She said there are many times when people and families come into her office and having something like this would help calm and relax them. It would also take their mind off of other things that may be bothering them for the moment and help turn their day around. As I made each bracelet I had a goal to have 30 bracelets for each organization. Therefore, I have 60 bracelets in total, which I placed each in a colored organza bag, with an inspiring message for them to read. I made bracelets for both men/women and boys/girls so it would appeal to all people of all ages. I really enjoyed making all these bracelets and I had a lot of fun choosing different colors for each one. My hope and goal is to help someone feel better about whatever situation they may be in and help turn their day around and put a smile on their face. I have had many people in my life do so many kind and nice things for me, I just want to pass it on and take my turn on making someone else's day.

Date of Service: 07/13/2022
Number of Volunteers: 1
Total Hours: 30
Dollar Value of Donations: N/A

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Clover Clan 4-H Club's School Kit Assembly for Ukranian Refugee Children

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Clover Clan 4-H Club's School Kit Assembly for Ukranian Refugee Children

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We had $500 donated to our club last year and decided to give it back to the community. After researching a variety of needs we decided to work with the Orphan Grain Train to send school supplies for refugee children from the Ukraine war. We received a grant, received many donations, and partnered with several other community groups raising nearly $5,000 to make 608 backpack school supply kits. These will be shipped to Moldova, Romania, or Georgia depending on where they are able to get a shipment going. We had 43 people involved from the 4-H club and community organizations.

Date of Service: 07/16/2022
Number of Volunteers: 31
Total Hours: 70
Dollar Value of Items Donated: $5,000

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Shining Stars 4-H Club's Atkinson Cemetery Cleanup

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Shining Stars 4-H Club's Atkinson Cemetery Cleanup

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Shining Stars 4-H Club organized and completed a cemetery cleanup for the local Atkinson cemetery. Here they removed 2 trailer loads of trash, debris, tree branches to help clean the cemetery prior to Memorial weekend.

Date of Service: 04/09/2022
Number of Volunteers: 11
Total Hours: 44
Dollar Value of Donations: N/A