Tri-Gal 4-H Club has been up to a lot this spring and summer season. We have continued to thrive in community service, starting with our STEM club project. We planted peppers, red onions and yellow onions at the Galilee Community Garden for the Damascus Food Pantry. Once the produce is “market-ready,” it will be donated to the food pantry. 

We also made a large donation of towels and blankets to the Dessin Animal Shelter in memory of Dora Faye Henry, who loved animals. This donation will help the employees at Dessin take care of the animals as they wait for their “fur-ever” homes. 

We did one of our favorite community service projects of the year in May. Our club officially became a part of the PennDOT Adopt a Highway Roadside Cleanup Program this year. After a required safety training, club members worked together to help the environment and the beautification of our homelands by cleaning up waste from the affected roadside areas. We adopted Rutledgedale Road, Wescott Road and a portion of Galilee Road. 

Our next cleanup will be this fall.  

In June, we donated over 100 Deterra packs to the Wayne County Veterans Affairs Center. These packs deactivate unused medications, keeping them out of landfills, the water supply, young children’s hands and the like. 

Our club also worked together with Horse Lovers 4-H Club, Maple Line 4-H Club and the Damascus Manor United Methodist Church to help restock the shelves at the Salvation Army Pantry in Honesdale. 

Lastly, we created and donated a few raffle baskets for area benefits this summer, including a back-to-school raffle basket for the Equinunk Fire Company chicken barbecue, because it is that time of year again—back to school. The raffle baskets at the barbecue help fund the fire companies’ many expenses.

We also contributed baskets to the Howey Scholarship Memorial Car Show and the Carrie Gill Medical Expenses benefit. 

What did we do after that? We got ready for the Wayne County Fair! Our club held work nights for one week. We took time to put together our club display and club scrapbook, and work on our club project—and the leaders are on hand to assist members with their projects and project books. The fair is our opportunity to showcase what 4-H is all about to the public, because as we always say, 4-H is more than just livestock.

From livestock shows to the Red Metal Building projects (non-livestock projects), we put our best on display for you to enjoy.

Congratulations to all Wayne County 4-H members on a memorable and fun nine days. 

We would also like to say thank you to the buyers who supported and continue to support the 4-H and FFA Livestock Auction every year. There is no better way to get quality, locally grown meat products than those raised by our county 4-H and FFA members. 

We are looking forward to starting our new 4-H year in October and have many more community service projects planned. Tri-Gal continues to stay busy and looks forward to helping our community.

Want to learn more about 4-H opportunities? Contact the Penn State Extension Office in Honesdale at 570/253-5970 ext. 4110. Our new 4-H year is about to begin and that is the perfect time to become a member or screened volunteer for a club near you.