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Family & Consumer Education

Program Impact

• An Extension self-care program, Organizing Your Health Care, and corresponding exhibit reached 62,000 Mississippians last year. The program provided age and gender specific lists of screening tests and exams for the early detection of diseases such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and sexually transmitted diseases.
• The Healthwise Consumer Extension workshop teaches participants the conservation of health care dollars, appropriate utilization of health services, and assertive health decision making. Six months after participating in the workshop, one participant group of 28 individuals avoided two unnecessary emergency room visits and 18 unnecessary doctor's office visits, thus realizing an estimated savings of $2,050.
• Extension reached over 101,190 families with parenting information through classes, publications, news events, and other methods.
• Since enrolling in the program, 23 percent of the single mothers participating in Extension's Bright Futures program have completed Graduate Equivalency Degree (GED) requirements.
• Twenty-nine Mississippi high school students participated in the Extension-sponsored Rural Medical Scholars program. The 5 week program is designed to attract local doctors for rural areas of the state.
• Mississippi Homemaker Volunteers, Inc. donated over $4.5 million in volunteer time and services to the state.
• Members of the Mississippi Homemaker Volunteers, Inc. provide 250 therapy dolls monthly to Mississippi Childrens Hospital (MCH) in Jackson. The dolls, which assist physicians and child life specialists in helping young patients, learn to cope with illness and treatments, represent a $75,000 yearly donation to MCH by the volunteers.
• In Kemper County, Mississippi, Homemaker Volunteers, Inc. conducted a community reading program and provided transportation for the 50 area youth that participated. Pre/post tests indicated that all 50 participants showed improvement in their reading skills.
• Extension partnered with local Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) across the state in reaching over 250 home-based entrepreneurs with basic business start-up information.
• Through the Business Briefs electronic newsletter, Extension provided information to over 12,000 entrepreneurs.
• In Bolivar County, 355 students participated in the Extension-sponsored school enrichment program, Changes, Challenges, and Choices. The program helps students establish leadership skills, understand sexuality, develop personal skills, and improve their self-concepts.
• Extension's Bright Futures program reached 655 new mothers with parenting education through the Blue Ribbon Campaign, I Am Your Child Campaign, Family Matters Conference, and community health fairs.
• Extension Youth Opportunity Programs reached 58 Native American students from the Bogue Chitto community of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The programs covered the topics of self-esteem, dating, abstinence, and teen pregnancy.
• Fifty Myrtle third-grade students learned about the food guide pyramid in a two-day workshop conducted by Extension during National Nutrition Month. Pre/post tests indicated an increase in the students' knowledge of food groups and daily food servings.
• Twenty-two special needs youth in Lee county learned nutrition concepts by participating in Camp Discovery, an Extension-sponsored program.
• In Union and Marshall Counties, 30 youth had hands-on experience in food preparation and table manners by participating in a Kids in the Kitchen program.
• Almost 700 Mississippi Homemaker Volunteers, Inc. members increased their expertise and knowledge in public policy education, citizen rights, and health and economic issues at fall leadership training meetings sponsored by Extension.
• Mississippi Homemaker Volunteer, Inc. members in 24 Mississippi counties constructed 177 garments for family members at a cost of $3,264. Estimated retail value of the garments was $10,996, realizing a saving of $7,732 to the families.
• Extension partnered with the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) to provide preretirement planning workshops to over 700 employees in eight locations across the state.
• In Lee County, Extension taught 114 senior citizens how to avoid becoming victims of fraud. This information provided the participants with an estimated saving of $5,700 from bogus products and services.
• As a result of major cutbacks in staff positions at a home health care agency serving several central Mississippi counties, Extension taught over 120 employees of the agency how to adjust their budgets and debt management plans to a reduced income.
• Over 9,000 limited resource families increased their money management knowledge and skills by participating in the Extension educational program, Money in Your Pocket. The eight-lesson curriculum taught families how to plan their spending, use credit wisely, cut spending costs, comparison shop, and plan for the future.
• Extension helped more than 450 women learn how to prepare financially for their later years by completing the series of eight workshops of the Women's Financial Information Program
• Extension trained more than 225 agency volunteers to teach families how to better manage their resources using The Savings Series curriculum. As a result, over 6,500 families have been reached with this money management program.
• Extension has helped enable over 400 Mississippi families to purchase their own home. Through the Homebuyer Education Program, families have learned how to select a home, secure a home mortgage, and care for the long-term maintenance of the home.
• Pearline Ramsey, Adult EFNEP Nutrition Educator, and Alma Harris, Area Extension Agent, taught residents of Beacon Harbor, a resident home for dysfunctional residents, basic culinary skills. The residents will be moving into their own apartment after they complete these basic training sessions. They were trained in basic living skills to provide independence. Using the curriculum "Making Healthy Choices With Pals," the group of residents were taught to properly use a stove (gas or electric), how to successfully purchase groceries on a shoe string budget, and how to properly store foods (dry and cold). Cooking terms were demonstrated; such as, fry, bake, broil, etc. The residents were very receptive to this information. All of the residents attended these sessions.

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