From 3D printing medical face shields to packing food boxes for students, Illinois 4-H members are honoring their pledges to larger service by stepping up to safely meet the unique needs of their communities.

Headlines about dairy farms dumping milk and livestock being euthanized are a sharp contrast to empty meat cases. The novel coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the nation’s food supply chain, resulting in increased prices for panicked shoppers and major losses for Illinois farmers.

“Measure twice, cut once,” is a rule Clinton County 4-H member Evie Ribbing knows by heart along with the 4-H pledge. What started as a woodworking project, has grown into a business new venture – Sawdust and Sparkles by E - for this entrepreneurial 12-year-old.

Every community should have plans that guide how they communicate with residents and businesses, how they encourage adoption of preventative protection measures, and how they provide access to post-event recovery resources.

Tom Bates knows that the shooting sports 4-H club is about so much more than just teaching kids to safely use a gun or bow. At a state training Bates attended, someone asked how to train world-class trap shooters. Bates remembers the response almost word-for-word. “We’re not training world-class shooters. Hopefully, we are training some world-class citizens.”

Illinois 4-H member Aja Capel of Urbana, Ill., is on a mission to help minority students – especially girls – consider careers in STEM. Her efforts are gaining a lot more traction, thanks to a recent video profile by NBC News Learning.