Arkansas EHC members serve as delegates to Associated Country Women of the World conference
May 28, 2026
By Rebekah Hall
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- Two Arkansas EHC members attended international conference in Canada
- ACWW is international volunteer organization with members in 82 countries
- Arkansas EHC delegates voted on resolutions, received updates on programs
(932 words)
Download photos of Arkansas EHC delegates
OTTAWA, Ontario — Two members of the Arkansas Extension Homemakers Council gained a global perspective on their volunteer efforts as delegates to the Associated Country Women of the World 31st Triennial World Conference.
Arkansas Extension Homemakers Council, or EHC, is a program of the Cooperative Extension Service, the outreach arm of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
Karen Bell Fox has been a member of the Friendship EHC club in Cleveland County since 1996. She attended the conference in her capacity as president of the National Volunteer Outreach Network, or NVON, of which Arkansas EHC is a member organization.
Dot Hart, a member of the New Horizons EHC club in Jefferson County since 2013, is president-elect of Arkansas EHC and represented the statewide organization at the conference.
The conference took place in Ottawa, Ontario, from April 26-May 1.
“My experience at the conference was beautiful,” Hart said. “There were 51 countries represented, but it felt like we were all there on common ground. We were all working together. We have issues here, they have issues there, but our issues are not that different.”
The Associated Country Women of the World, or ACWW, is an international organization that focuses on issues impacting rural women. Arkansas EHC is a member organization of ACWW, which includes groups from 82 countries around the world.
“Arkansas Extension Homemakers have opportunities to participate on local, county, state, national and international levels,” said Laura Hendrix, extension professor of personal finance and EHC adviser for the Division of Agriculture. “ACWW broadens our horizons and joins forces of women from around the globe.”
The organization, founded in 1929, has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and is also a partner of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO.
ACWW members vote on policy resolutions that encourage member organizations to advocate to their local and national governments on behalf of issues impacting rural women, their families and their communities. The organization has three project focus areas: climate-smart agriculture, rural women’s health, and education and community development.
“Support for these projects comes down to Arkansas EHC members in education, where our members become educated as to what other parts of the world are doing in these focus areas,” Fox said. “Arkansas is a farming state, and we do have a lot of women farmers, so the issues discussed at the international level certainly have an impact in our own communities.”
Hendrix said that ACWW membership allows Arkansas EHC members to work with like-minded individuals on a larger scale.
“AEHC can get to know our international neighbors, form bonds with representatives of other countries and work together to make positive impacts on common concerns,” Hendrix said.
Advocating for rural women’s issues
Arkansas EHC played a role in creating and presenting a new resolution at the ACWW conference, which focused on taking action to eliminate childcare deserts. As president of NVON, Fox presented the resolution for consideration at the conference.
“Inadequate childcare access severely limits employment opportunities, increases work-family conflict and psychological distress, particularly for mothers, and heightens the risk of child neglect and abuse,” the resolution reads. “Childcare deserts are characterized by a limited supply of accessible and affordable childcare services within a given geographic area.”
The resolution asks ACWW and its member organizations to call on their governments at the local and national level to “take comprehensive action to eliminate childcare deserts.”
According to a 2023 brief on childcare need and availability in rural areas by the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, rural children under five years old make up 24 percent of children eligible for childcare services in the U.S., yet 55 percent of these children live in a childcare desert.
Hart said she has seen how a lack of access to quality childcare impacts members of her community, who “cannot afford to go to work for the minimum wage.”
“If you take paying for childcare, rent, a car payment and insurance, you’re already in the hole,” she said.
Hart said she will travel in July to Wisconsin for NVON’s annual conference, where members will “revisit some of these issues and see how we can implement solutions in our communities.”
Fox said Arkansas EHC members can help achieve the goals of the resolution by making their voices heard to elected leaders.
“In Arkansas, it’s not just about bringing awareness to this issue, but bringing that awareness to our public and state officials about what can be done and what is going on,” Fox said.
Gaining global perspective
Fox said the most meaningful part of her experience at the ACWW conference was the camaraderie.
“No matter what part of the world you were from, you had the same empathy,” Fox said. “The atmosphere was just all-inclusive.”
Hart and Fox said they connected with a conference attendee from Cameroon who told them about her passion for saving the country’s heirloom seeds.
“She mentioned that one tomato seed is worth more than an ounce of gold,” Hart said. “She was talking about the heirloom foods that they want to keep, and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, we don’t even think about that because we just have that so readily.’
“Things like that just humanized me,” Hart said. “It helped me understand that our issues are global, and we can all be a part of solving them.”
Visit the Associated Country Women of the World website to learn more about the organization. Learn more about the Arkansas Extension Homemakers Council on the Cooperative Extension Service website or contact your county agent for information about local EHC clubs.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas 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 22 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall
rkhall@uada.edu
501-671-2061