Crenshaw County 4-H used a grant from Wiregrass RC&D to produce various programs and events in 2022. All programming was designed to teach life skills and leadership, along with the importance of environmental conservation. Young people developed critical-thinking, decision-making, and team-building skills through experiential learning activities.
Activities included
- Litter Initiative
- Crenshaw County 4-H Round Up
- Regional 4-H Round Up
- Wildlife Judging, Classroom in the Forest
- 4-H Summer Camp
- Competitive Events
- 4-H Chick Chain
- 4-H Pig Pen
- Crenshaw County Groundwater Festival
- 4-H Sport Fishing
- River Kids
- Demonstration Garden
- Wildlife Day
With a grant from Wiregrass RC&D, the Headland Police Department was able to complete their firing range in 2022. The funds were used for a range field with yard markers, target stands, and to bring the facility up to industry security standards.
In July of 2022, 7th-12th grade students in Crenshaw County attended Career and Technical Education Summer Camp at the Tom Harbin Ag Center. Career fields included Agriscience, Business, Education, Health Science, and Marketing. The exploration helped guide them to the program(s) of greatest interest to better prepare them for a career after high school.
Randle Kinney Park Improvement Project
Randle Kinney Park, located at 329 Chickasaw St. in Dothan, is a neighborhood park operated by the City of Dothan Department of Leisure Services. It is in what is known as the “Baptist Bottoms” area of Dothan, which was an area recently targeted in the “Love Dothan” campaign. Current park amenities include outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, playground equipment, a gazebo, and a large open greenspace. The park is named in memory of Mr. Randle Kinney who was a 1965 graduate of Carver High School in Dothan. Following his high school graduation, Mr. Kinney enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Vietnam War as part of the 101st Airborne Division, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry, B Company. He was killed in action on November 9th, 1966. Dothan Leisure Services began work on the park in 2022 with some new playground equipment, and future improvements are planned.
Dothan Tech Greenhouse Rebirth
Dothan Technology Center started rebuilding their greenhouse in 2022 as part of their Horticulture Program. They worked with FarmTek to stock the greenhouse, and students will continue to work on the project through multiple phases until it is complete.
HVAC for Building Construction
Headland High School partnered with Southeastern Cooling in 2022 to install a 3.5-ton air conditioning unit produced by American Standard with a heat pump system. The system is transportable and will be used to educate 10th-12th grade students in the building construction program on how to install, repair, and preform maintenance on air conditioning systems.
In the future, the program will expand to Abbeville High School. Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Technicians will be in high demand through 2028, according to the State of Alabama Workforce report.
Wiregrass Smile-A-Mile Program
Smile-A-Mile’s regional programming seeks to meet families dealing with cancer in their own community. Over 90% of children diagnosed with cancer in our state are treated at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham. Children who live in all four corners of our state travel back and forth to Birmingham for treatment every week. Whether it be 196 miles from Dothan or 4.6 miles from Homewood, our regional program takes Smile-A-Mile programming into the communities where our families live in order to help them create a community of survivors and a support system within their region. Currently, we have over 40 families from the 10 counties which comprise the Wiregrass.
Smile-A-Mile partners with local attractions to host events. For the past few years, one of the regional outreach events is to the National Peanut Festival for the SAM families in the Wiregrass Region. This event has become a highlight for our Wiregrass families who are treated to a private dinner, VIP passes, and a VIP treatment. This past year we had 58 participants join us for an amazing night at the festival.
In addition to the National Peanut Festival experience as part of our regional programming, we would ask that Wiregrass RC&D fund summer camping for the 40 families from the Wiregrass region at Camp Smile-A-Mile on Lake Martin.
Our summer camping experience is the foundation for SAM families. In 1985, Smile-A-Mile began as a one-week summer camp for children in cancer treatment. Our program has grown to include six summer sessions, offering camps to every member of an oncology patient’s family.
With a grant from Wiregrass RC&D, the Russell County Historical Society repaired siding, restored shutters, and painted the exterior of the Buchanan House. This phase is part of a larger project including the replacement of the front porch floor and work on the interior.
Family Math Night was held on March 15, 2022, in Troy, Alabama, and benefitted students from Pike County and Troy City Schools. Students and their families were invited to participate in a two-hour event that included lessons based on their grade level math content, free math manipulatives to take home, and a meal. Keri Richburg from the Department of Teacher Education at Troy University, along with the Math Specialists from AMSTI (Alabama Math Science and Technology Initiative) worked together to build lessons for kindergarten-second grade, third-fifth grade, and sixth-eighth-grade students and their families.
Each group participated in three lessons where students and their families were taught current math concepts with hands-on components. Families were then able to take home any hands-on materials that were used so they could continue practicing math at home. The purpose of the event was to bring together families, students, and teachers to allow them to experience mathematics in a hands-on, enjoyable way, that would empower them to be successful in the classroom. Forty-seven families attended the inaugural math night event and expressed enthusiasm for continuing to offer more events like this in the future. Working to build community and collaboration between families and schools is important to student success in school.
With a grant from Wiregrass RC&D, Henry County 4-H was able to purchase a Skins-n-Skulls Kit for mobile educational purchases. The kit has real animal skins and skulls from native Alabama wildlife species and gives instructors high-quality materials to educate youth on local fauna.