Farmers Weekly Review

A message from the Will County 4-H Foundation:

You may not know much about the Will County 4-H Youth Foundation, but it’s been around for a while.

It was started in 1973 as a means of offering financial support to 4-Hers through many fundraising events, such as the 1986 Valentine Dance at the Atrium in Peotone, the 1995 Cow Pie Bingo at Francis 4-H Field, the 2000 raffle of a Fiberglass Cow at the Will County Fair, years of raffling gift baskets at the Will County Fair, and 13 years of spaghetti and pork chop dinners.

Many thousands of dollars have been raised for the youth of our county by volunteers who wanted to see the next generation succeed without having to consider how much those costs might impact their family.

We strive to provide the resources needed for the superb educational programs developed for youth and adults.

These programs include both 4-H and Master Gardeners. Master Gardeners programs involve people improving their quality of life by helping them discover sound management practices for home and urban natural resources, by creating aesthetically pleasing environments, by promoting well-being through people-plant interactions and horticultural therapy, and by contributing to a safe, abundant food supply through home fruit and vegetable production.

These programs are accessible to the general public and are also offered in local schools.

From the beginning we have valued our county’s history, agricultural roots, education, youth, and community networks. After 52 years, that has not changed. The Will County 4-H Youth Foundation is a registered 501(C)(3) non-profit volunteer organization whose mission is to provide financial support directly to families in this county and to the University of Illinois-Will County Extension.

4-H programs allow youth between the ages 5-18 years old to learn by doing while also giving them chances to serve their communities through various service opportunities. In 4-H, the whole family takes part including siblings of all ages learning and growing together. Though our county looks different than it did when we began, our goals remain the same today.

Today, we want to blend traditional with modern by taking into account the expanding interests and talents of our community. From Ag Business, livestock rearing, and crop science to robots, e-sports, and graphic design, we are helping without removing our roots. We want to be there for our kids: our older generation teaching the next.

This is where you come in. Our biggest challenge is not being able to raise enough money each year to fully fund every request made of our organization. Though no one has been completely turned down, we haven’t been able to fully support every 4-H kid or local citizen’s expenses to attend learning opportunities.

Recent requests include: payment of tuition fees for the Junior Livestock Conference, Junior Leadership Conference, Illini Academy Camp at University of Illinois, the robotics program including purchase of expensive equipment, and partial funding for the e-sport tournament held this past fall.

To increase our giving potential, we are asking for your help. Any and all tax deductible donations would be appreciated. For donations of $50 or more, your name will be placed in a gift drawing for one round-trip plane ticket on Southwest Airlines.

For contributing businesses, your contribution to the Foundation reaches to a broad audience across one of the Illinois’ largest counties. Your business or organization will be placed in front of over 10,000 visitors at the Will County Fair in August, over 200 4-H families at the Will County 4-H General Project Show, and various community events and festivals across Will County.

We also place all sponsors on our website and Facebook page. This gives us a way to thank you in front of your current and future customers! Please see our website for our complete sponsorship packet! http://www.willco4hfoundation.com.