CLINTON, Ill. — A little goes a long way in 4-H. Three members of the Helping Hands 4-H club of Farmer City raised $500 for the DeWitt County 4-H Fair Association by sewing and selling pillows.

With their mother Melissa Craft cutting the fabric, Gideon and Phoebe sewed pillows with pockets for books or phones. Their 3-year-old sister Cecilia helped by loading the bobbins. Starting at Thanksgiving, they sewed 70 pillows, using skills they learned in the 4-H sewing club, which were sold as Christmas gifts.

“We’re so proud of this 4-H family for raising funds to make our fairground bathrooms handicap accessible,” said Lindsey Burden, DeWitt County Extension Youth and Development program coordinator. “Especially since this is their first year in 4-H.”

The Craft family presented their donation to the DeWitt County 4-H Fair Association. The association operates the fairgrounds, which are used by the public, but primarily DeWitt, Macon and Piatt county youth for horse, livestock, and other 4-H projects every summer. The original fairground bathrooms are not handicap accessible and the association has been raising money to fund the $80,000 project entirely with donations. They hope to have the project completed by the 4-H show in July.

The 4-H program is provided through University of Illinois Extension and is open to youth ages 8 to 18. Youth learn skills for living by participating in individual or group learning experiences related to more than 200 project areas. Find Dewitt County 4-H on Facebook.

Photo (left to right): Daniel Eos and Stephanie Huffman, members of the DeWitt County 4-H Fair Association, and Gideon Craft, age 8, Cecilia, age 3, and Phoebe Craft, age 6, of Farmer City.

Contact

Lindsey Burden
Program Coordinator, 4-H Youth Development
DeWitt Extension Office
8425 Katie Road, Clinton, IL 61727
(217) 935-5764
lburden@illinois.edu