Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association Week is Oct. 8 through 14 and more than 850 clubs will be celebrating their accomplishments.

Extension Homemakers are firmly rooted in community service with more than 14,000 members contributing more than 300,000 volunteer hours for the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service–sponsored activities.

The goal of KEHA is to improve the quality of life for families and communities.

Each group carries out this objective differently based on interest or region.

More traditional groups focus on food, nutrition, health and family development while other groups love cultural arts, heritage and 4H.

Anyone can join KEHA and find a group that suits their specific interests.

One of the more important aspects of KEHA is the group’s commitment to volunteer service.

Extension Homemakers volunteered more than 90,000 hours to support youth development activities across the state.

In the past year, KEHA raised $37,257 for the University of Kentucky Ovarian Cancer Research and Screening Program.

This long-standing history of community engagement has been a way for many homemakers to dedicate a portion of their time to volunteer service.

In Clark County, Extension Homemakers serve the community by participating in feeding hungry children with the Backpack program; Ale-8’s to Soldiers; Operation Happiness and Kids Bucks Day at the Winchester-Clark County Farmers’ Market.

If you are interested in joining Extension Homemakers, visit http://ces.ca.uky/edu/clark or contact the Clark County Extension Office at 744-4682 to learn more about our local clubs and opportunities.

Jennifer Howard is the Clark County Extension Agent for family and consumer sciences.