Marshall, Ill. - Everyone loves a good t-shirt, especially one designed by a local youth with the intention of bringing together the 4-H’ers of our multi-county unit of Clark, Crawford, and Edgar counties.
“This year has been a challenge in many ways,” says Susan Sloop, University of Illinois Extension 4-H youth development educator. Knowing 4-H members were going to be very disappointed they would not be able to show in person at the local 4-H fairs due to COVID-19, the 4-H Program Coordinators in each of the three counties decided to hold a t-shirt design contest to commemorate this unique year.
“This was just one of the ways we tried to make our 4-H’ers feel connected during a time when we all felt very disconnected,” says Sloop. 4-H’ers were asked to submit t-shirt design entries via Facebook, making sure the design highlighted the virtual fair event, which was conducted completely online.
Eight members from all three counties submitted designs and were encouraged to share the Facebook page to boost likes for their design. The design with the most Facebook likes was then screen printed onto t-shirts, which were given to every 4-H’er who participated in the virtual 4-H fair.
As a way to say thank you for the tremendous effort that went into pulling off an online fair, shirts were also given to every parent, judge, staff member, and volunteer. Rya Burks, a tenth grader from Edgar County and member of the Ft. Sumpter 4-H Club, won the popular vote. Rya has been in 4-H for five years, and her winning design depicted a green polka-dotted face covering and the words, “4-H Virtual Fair 2020: Our Head, Hearts, and Hands are still there and our Health is safe!”
Instead of hosting their typical awards ceremonies, each county held drive-through awards programs where 4-H Program Coordinators handed out bags to fair participants that included their 4-H fair awards and ribbons, along with their free virtual fair t-shirt.
The t-shirts were funded by the Illinois 4-H Foundation, which supplies University of Illinois Extension Units with funds for innovative programming and for influencing the lives of youth in their communities. 4-H Foundation monies are used for local programming to inspire youth to learn new skills, develop independence, gain higher levels of self-esteem, and provide the equipment needed to learn together.
4-H is open to youth ages 8 and older as of Sept. 1, and Cloverbuds is open to youth ages 5-7. If you have a child interested in joining 4-H, please contact your local Illinois Extension office or visit online at go.illinois.edu/joinnow. If you would like to make a donation to help Illinois youth achieve their unique potential and gain confidence that will guide them as adults, please visit www.4hfoundation.illinois.edu.
ABOUT EXTENSION: Illinois Extension leads public outreach for University of Illinois by translating research into action plans that allow Illinois families, businesses, and community leaders to solve problems, make informed decisions, and adapt to changes and opportunities.