The State of Iowa is observing Extension Week this week, celebrating the contributions of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
Dallas County Extension Director Jeff Jackson says the purpose of the week is to promote the reach of ISU throughout the state, emphasizing the impact local programs have on the communities served. In Dallas County specifically, Jackson notes they will be focusing on the employees and volunteers, particularly focusing on why it is they do what they do. He says there will be a series of videos throughout the week on social media featuring those individuals. Jackson also points out, ISU is a land grant university — the first of its kind in the nation, in fact — which means long ago they received federal money to start an assortment of interlinked programs around the state that eventually became Extension.
“So the goal of that land grant university is to take that knowledge base, those resources from campus and give it freely out to the community. And so that’s what we do! Iowa State University is in Ames, the rest of the 99 counties, we are the 99 county campus. And our goal is to help educate, to help develop, and leave this world and this community better than we found it. Really our ultimate goal and the easiest way to simplify all of that is to say, ‘We want to build a strong Iowa!’”
To hear more from Jackson about Extension week, listen to tomorrow’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com. To learn more about Dallas County ISU Extension, click the link below to visit their Facebook page.