Points of Pride

Staffing offices in each of West Virginia’s 55 counties, WVU Extension agents are trusted neighbors who connect local issues to state and national resources. By helping individuals, families, businesses, and communities apply research-based knowledge to problems, Extension helps people:

• protect their resources,
• increase their income,
• improve their health,
• build their leadership and career skills.

Real-world challenges—such as “plan your work, and work your plan”—generated $2 million for 4-H and FFA youths when they learned and applied livestock management skills in 2008.

All airplane fires don’t ignite at airports. That’s why the WVU Fire Service Extension takes aircraft rescue skills to firefighters in their communities. In 2008, more than 630 firefighters tackled the distinct challenges presented by WVU Extension’s high-tech 1,350-square-foot “airplane”—the Aircraft Rescue Firefighting Live-Burn Mobile Simulator.

For 50 years, the Institute of Labor Studies and Research has been improving labor-management relations, promoting social justice within unions, and enhancing labor’s role in communities. Particularly popular and effective are ILSR Summer School sessions, which draw union members from all over the United States.

Parolees and juvenile offenders are providing fresh, nutritious food for food banks. As they plant and harvest fruits and vegetables for others, they develop horticulture skills for themselves. Serving as their local agriculture experts, WVU Extension agents help them create value-added community gardens that deliver more than pleasant memories.

Opening and improving farmers markets are just two approaches WVU Extension agents are using to help farm families improve their bottom line while they bring fresh, nutritious foods to local families via direct markets, grocery stores, and restaurants.

4-H continues to make summers fun. Summer learning activities connected 24,000 youths in diverse adventures, including science camps, literacy and nutrition programs, agricultural field days, and leadership experiences. Through camp, club, and special-project activities, 4-H brings positive youth development activities to one out of every four West Virginia youths.

“Jambo! (Hello!) Welcome to Kenya.” That’s the greeting Community Educational Outreach Service members in 50 West Virginia counties receive as they learn about the country of Washington Gondi, their 2007-2009 international scholarship student at WVU. CEOS clubs are advised by county-based WVU Extension faculty.

In 29 counties in 2008, CEOS members’ volunteer services were valued at more than $9.2 million. Their projects included literacy, diabetes education, cancer awareness, and similar family and health programs.

Sign up for Venison 101? If West Virginians harvest it, WVU Extension experts will teach them how to preserve it safely. WVU Extension agents and specialists are meeting increasing demands for food preservation classes—for fruits, vegetables, and venison.

Diabetes doesn’t have to be devastating. WVU Extension’s Dining with Diabetes program teaches individuals with diabetes, their family members, and their caretakers how to change their cooking and eating habits to help control this serious disease. The cooking schools, offered in nearly every county since 1998, have improved the lives of thousands of West Virginians.

When kids climb aboard Energy Express, they learn to love to read. Energy Express, a nationally acclaimed six-week literacy program, reverses the typical summertime losses in children’s reading and comprehension skills. Each year, Energy Express serves more than 3,000 children in rural and low-income communities.

True to its 4-H legacy of making the best better, WVU Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp is continuing to improve its service to its neighbors in Lewis County and to visitors from throughout West Virginia and the nation. The Mill’s newest addition will be a multipurpose arena—designed to accommodate programs for learners, campers, and visitors of all ages. But some major improvements will remain invisible as new technology provides better phone service and faster internet connections, and new power lines—now underground—make the Mill’s beautiful scenery even more idyllic.

DIY—Do It Yourself—with a little help from your neighbors. Working out of WVU Extension Service county offices and recognizing area issues, Extension agents are local folks in every West Virginia community. By helping individuals, families, businesses, and communities apply research-based knowledge to problems, Extension experts help people protect their resources, increase their income, improve their health, and build their leadership and career skills.

WVU Extension’s nationally recognized 4-H Youth Development Program brings experiential life skill development activities to 1 in 4 West Virginia youths. WVU Extension faculty, staff, and volunteers work with 387,000 youths and adults, many of whom participate regularly in ongoing programs.

The term “Extension agent” and “county fair” are almost inseparable. For many decades, WVU Extension faculty have helped communities plan and develop their local fairs and festivals. With the average event generating nearly $300,000, researchers estimate that Extension helps the state’s economy grow by $7.5 million annually.

Led by WVU Extension community and economic development faculty, a downtown revitalization initiative in Roane County converted an abandoned department store into a viable business that became known as the Spencer Antique Mall, Arts and Collectibles. Within 29 months, the partnership had 47 vendors and a full-time mall manager. During the brief time, the mall generated $356,255 in sales.

“Put the wet stuff on the red stuff.” That’s what eager West Virginia teens learn how to do during the West Virginia junior Firefighter Camp at WVU Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp, near Weston. While making science “hot stuff,” the camp nurtures youths’ interest in community emergency services.

Since 1926, Mount Vernon Dining Hall has been the “heart” of WVU Jackson’s Mill. Restoration has made the Mill’s “heart” stronger than ever. New conference and guest suites, elevators, and heating, cooling, and fire safety systems are among the $3 million renovations making guests’ visits more productive and enjoyable. The venerable building—modeled after George Washington’s Virginia home—is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.