4-H partners with JOANN Fabrics to help fund clubs, activities

Fast Facts:

Partnership helps 4-H clubs engage public, raise program visibility
Special Paper Clovers available through February, sales will benefit 4-H

(284 words)

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas 4-H, along with 4-H clubs around the country, are partnering with JOANN Fabrics in efforts to engage their respective communities and help raise funds for clubs and activities in their areas.

Priscella Thomas-Scott, 4-H events coordinator for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said 4-H clubs in Pulaski, Craighead, Benton, Washington and Sebastian counties visited local JOANN Fabrics stores in their respective areas earlier in February to create handmade Valentine’s Day cards, which were in turn distributed to hospitals senior citizen centers and other community centers for the Feb. 14 holiday.

The activity was one of three ways National 4-H is currently partnering with the fabric retail chain. JOANN Fabrics is also offering customers a 4-H Reward card, which gives customers a 15 percent discount on purchases and donates at least 2.5 percent of eligible transactions to National 4-H. During the month of February, the retailer will also offer Valentine’s Day versions of the 4-H Paper Clover for $1 or $4, which will include instructions for a holiday craft. Thirty percent of the sale of these Paper Clovers will go to National 4-H, and 70 percent will go to to state 4-H programs.

Thomas-Scott said about 15 Pulaski County 4-H members met at the Little Rock JOANN Fabrics location earlier this month to create Valentine’s Day cards.

“This is a great way for Arkansas 4-H to engage our local communities, get some visibility and develop this partnership with JOANN Fabrics,” Thomas-Scott said. “The money that’s raised through the Clover Cards comes back to 4H, and it can be used for any kind of programming.”

To learn about Arkansas 4-H, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit https://www.uaex.uada.edu/4h-youth/.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

By Ryan McGeeney
The Cooperative Extension Service
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Media Contact: Ryan McGeeney
Communication Services
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2120
mcgeeney@uada.edu

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