Longtime homemakers' group looking to attract new members

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - Attendance may be dwindling at monthly meetings while the average age of membership has gone up, but Sue Tickfer still believes the Howard County Extension Homemakers remain as vital and relevant as they were when she started attending meetings in 1961.

The homemakers' motto, "To strengthen families through continuing education, leadership development and volunteer community support," still holds true today, Tickfer said.

"We're almost like sisters at this point," she said. "We've been together for a long time."

Many members like Tickfer have been attending meetings for multiple decades, part of a loyal following that has created a family atmosphere during monthly meetings. With 113 members currently enrolled in the homemakers through the Purdue Extension of Howard County, each of the 11 clubs typically meets once a month. The meetings reunite many of the women for an evening of fellowship.

Outside of meetings, the women are immersed in special interest clubs, where members learn a wide variety of skills, including making cookies with cake mixes, crocheting and knitting, helping each other with patterns, how to make a T- shirt quilts, macramé and zentangle.

They also take part in the Howard County 4-H Fair's adult open class, where they participate in baking, canning and hand crafts.

In addition to their artistic creations, homemakers volunteer their time at events hosted by Kokomo Urban Outreach, deliver meals to Howard Haven Residential Center and volunteer time with Habitat for Humanity.

The homemakers also play a major role in community outreach, collecting donations for its Back Pack Buddy program, Riley Children's Hospital and Cheer Guild, Ronald McDonald Houses and Coins for Friendship.

Tickfer's "Friendship" group specializes in outreach to the children in the Head Start program at Darrough Chapel Early Learning Center, where participants distribute free books and read to children several times a year.

"We got a grant through Purdue Extension and grants from the city that allows us to buy books through Scholastic where we read to them and then give them a book," Tickfer said. "We do that three times a year."

The key is giving back to the community while also broadening horizons by learning new skills that can be applied in daily life, longtime Extension Homemaker Nancy Newell said.

"I think it's a super organization. I don't think people realize what we do," said Newell, who has been one of the homemakers since the early 1970s. "We'll have lessons that apply specifically to seniors, but we try to focus some of our lessons on younger people, particularly the ones who don't cook as much or have time to. We're trying to reach out to a younger generation."

Connecting with a younger generation, Newell said, has been the group's biggest difficulty in continuing to evolve and bring in new members.

It hasn't been for a lack of effort. The homemakers' groups have each created clubs that have lessons tailored toward younger people, while trying to make all of its lessons have universal appeal.

"We have a lot of things we've learned that we can teach them," Newell said. "At the end of the month, we're doing a lesson on how to make a T-shirt quilt. We're trying to find out what they want to learn about to make their lives better."

In addition to crafts and cooking, the homemakers offer classes on everything from combating ID fraud to creative budgeting.

Extension Homemakers member Shirley Nix said the organization's clubs sometimes have to fight the stigma attached to its name, which gives the impression the homemakers are exclusively devoted to teaching skills that are helpful around the home.

"I think the name implies that we just get together and talk about cooking and sewing," said Nix, who served as past president of the state's Extension Homemakers in 2007-08. "It's so much more than that.

"We develop leadership and we stay current with what's happening in society," she added. "The lessons that the Purdue Extension teaches us is not just about pressure canning like it used to be, they relate to today's life and the challenges we face."

The Extension Homemakers are taking orders for their seventh annual Apple Dumpling sale going on now through Friday. Dumplings are frozen, ready to bake. Cost is $3 each or six for $17 for either regular or low-sugar dumplings. Proceeds from this sale fund the Extension Homemakers' scholarships for college students.

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Source: Kokomo Tribune, http://bit.ly/1NodSMF

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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com