The Power of 10 -- Decades!

This year is the celebration of 100 years of Montana State University Extension.  Because MSU Extension has a long tradition of meeting community needs, we would like to challenge you to celebrate the Power of 10 with us!  We’ve been serving Montanans for 10 decades. Can you give 10 minutes a day or 10 hours between September 10 and October 10 to serve your community to help us celebrate? 

Below is a list of ways for you to serve your community.  Please share with us what you plan to do or what you complete between September 10 and October 10!  We are capturing the results.  Take a picture to send us, post a comment on this blog, drop us a note or email to let us know what you did.  If you want, wear MSU Blue and Gold while you serve!  What you do today may matter in 10 minutes, 10 days, 10 years or 10 decades.  Be the Power of 10 with MSU Extension!

1. Help someone weed their yard
2. Bake someone dinner who needs it
3. Donate food to a food pantry
4. Pick up trash
5. Think of someone who needs to be taken to lunch and do it
6. Give someone a ride who needs it
7. Volunteer to drive someone to and from a medical appointment
8. Volunteer at the library
9. Read to somebody
10. Rake someone’s yard
11. Help at an animal rescue center
12. Donate to a local thrift store
13. Reinforce a creek bed (call Extension Office for details)
14. Offer to paint the exterior of a house that needs it
15. Offer to haul off large items, such as refrigerators or abandoned vehicles
16. Teach a child a skill
17. Volunteer to do activities at Bee Hive Homes, nursing homes, Skyline Lodge
18. Shovel a sidewalk
19. Trim a tree that obstructs walkers on sidewalks
20. Do some random act of kindness daily
21. Leave positive, encouraging notes where people will see them
22. Call someone you’ve been thinking of
23. Check in on an elderly neighbor
24. Walk someone across the street
25. Deliver groceries to someone who needs
26. Volunteer at the school – make copies, read to a child, help a teacher, clean or organize
27. Pay for the person behind you at the drive thru
28. Leave a gift for someone in a random public place such as on a park bench, at a bus stop, the library, a coffee house, or restaurant
29. Praise someone at work for a job well done 
30. Volunteer at a homeless shelter
31. Stop and listen when someone needs to talk
32. Organize a clothing drive
33. Teach someone a new technology or skill
34. Take a petting zoo to a nursing home
35. Send a thank you note or expression of gratefulness to someone who has made a difference to you
36. Help people register to vote
37. Thank a service worker or volunteer – ambulance, fire fighters, law enforcement, etc.
38. Help a family with young children
39. Make freezer meals for a shut-in
40. Start an effort to help an individual or a group
41. Help someone declutter their world
42. Offer to babysit for free for a family or public meeting 
43. Plant a tree or flowers in a neglected area 
44. Help winterize a home
45. Shop for someone who is homebound or ill, especially in bad weather.
46. Smile at someone
47. The next time you have exceptional service make sure to tell the person’s manager 
48. Donate your used books and/or magazines to a local library
49. Adopt a “grand-friend”
50. Clean the gutters or wash windows for a senior citizen
51. Write a letter to an older person
52. Forgive someone who has wronged you
53. Give a presentation to a classroom of students on your occupation or an area of interest that you are passionate about
54. Send a care package to a college student or someone else in transition
55. Donate your expertise to someone in need
56. Volunteer to deliver meals for senior centers
57. Stick up for a person who has been treated wrongly
58. Let someone, who only has a few items, go ahead of you in the checkout line of the grocery store
59. Invite someone new for dinner such as a neighbor, co-worker, friend, or family member.
60. Welcome a new resident to the community
61. Run an errand for someone in need
62. Play a game with somebody
63. Organize a group to address a community need
64. Get permission from an owner of an empty lot and do something to beautify it
65. Fix a sidewalk
66. Beautify your area or help someone else
67. Erect a fountain or some other monument in a town center
68. Raise funds to improve a public building
69. Put out a park bench or chairs to create a welcoming space
70. Donate money to support someone’s music or art lessons
71.  Teach a class
72. Donate garden produce to someone who would appreciate it
73. Think about what your community needs in the next 100 years and work toward one thing
74. Teach a dance class
75. Shop at a local family-owned business
76. Start an adult literacy program
77. Get certified in CPR and first aid
78. Join a civic organization
79. Find an important cause and volunteer
80. Recruit someone new to your community organization
81. Provide healthy snacks for a classroom
82. Carpool somewhere
83. Adopt a “grand-child”
84. Exercise with someone
85. Encourage the discouraged
86. Donate money or time to a local charity
87. Give blood
88. Sign up to train to volunteer as an EMT or fire fighter
89. Organize a neighborhood library box, where you put books you’ve enjoyed and leave them for others to take.  A “give and take” library that builds neighborhood connections
90. Collect aluminum cans or other recyclables and donate money to a favorite charity
91. Clean up a river or creek bed
92. Organize a nature education and adventure walk
93. Organize a bike check and bike safety education program
94. Organize a child-safety car seat check
95. Interview older people and record their history, share with community and family
96. Make fleece blankets to donate to those in need
97. Help gather and catalogue copies of historic photos from your community
98. Campaign for better marked cross walks
99. Help correct problem areas where water and ice buildup creating walking hazards
100. Keep going with the power of 10 – Try to do 10 minutes a day of service to others or 10 hours a month serving your community in some way

The Next 100 years?

A few years ago, I was able to attend an incredible presentation by Steve Stark, a former Extension communication specialist from North Dakota.  As he shared about history, his lesson came alive in front of the audience.  The skilled lecturer and historian was also an artist. He covered one entire wall of a conference room with paper and while he lectured, he drew scenes and people with chalk. One person described it as having a giant story book created in front of you. His topic that day was the history of the Extension Service in the United States.

Stark giving presentation.  Photo by Kimberly Gressley, University of Arizona Extension. 

I’ve been an Extension Agent since 1996 and an Extension client since the 1970s.   In that time, I’ve heard many people throw around topics like the Morrill Act, the Hatch Act or the Smith-Lever Act.  Generally, these lessons were dry and boring and contained much information I should have cared about, but the delivery, and my learning were both lacking.  In contrast, Stark’s presentation was remarkable and he gave context as to other issues facing the nation and the connections of people with ideas while these Acts of Congress were being decided. 

In 2014, we are celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 which provided for the creation of Extension.  Thursday, May 8, officially marked 100 years since the signing of the Act.  The creation of Extension outreach education programs could not have been possible without the Morrill Act, which was signed into law in 1862.  Think of those years leading up to 1862.  During a time of tremendous struggle in the United States, key people had a long-term vision for prosperity and furthering access to education to provide equality in opportunities.  The nation was faced with an impending Civil War, yet key players recognized that to propel the nation forward we had to invest in education.  The Morrill Act established land-grant universities that would focus work in agriculture and engineering.  The leadership realized that agriculture and engineering would be fundamental in driving our nation forward.  The United States Department of Agriculture was also begun in 1862 and Lincoln called it the “people’s department.” 

Later, as land-grant universities were teaching agriculture practices, it became apparent that there was a lack of current research in agricultural knowledge across the different climate and growing conditions of the United States.  Again, Congressional leadership tackled the problem in a visionary fashion and in 1887, the Hatch Act provided for the establishment of agriculture experiment and research stations. 

Once land-grant universities were going strong and agriculture experiment stations were providing important research, leadership looked around again for a way to improve lives of citizens.  They realized that not everyone who lived in rural agricultural communities would attend a land-grant institution and thus the leadership decided to bring the information and education to the people. 

In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act provided for the establishment of the Extension Service.  Specifically, the Act stated, “Cooperative agricultural extension work shall consist of the development of practical applications of research knowledge or giving of instruction and practical demonstrations of existing or improved practices or technologies in agriculture, uses of solar energy with respect to agriculture, home economics, and rural energy, and subjects relating thereto to persons not attending or resident in said colleges in the several communities and imparting information on said subjects through demonstrations, publications and otherwise and for the necessary printing and distribution of information in connection with the foregoing; and this work shall be carried on in such manner as may be mutually agreed upon by the Secretary of Agriculture and the State agriculture college or colleges …”

The words of the Smith-Lever Act likely have not mattered to you nearly as much as the result of it.  A country that can feed itself and educate citizens is a nation that can further other accomplishments.  As the visionaries of this country know, we are all connected.  I am proud to be part of the great tradition of Extension.  Montana State University is your university and an educator from the land-grant university is assigned to your county to assist you, whether directly or indirectly, bringing campus to you. 

Our Extension classes in Teton County strive to provide a public value -- from the 4-H youth development program that trains our community and state leadership of tomorrow, to wellness classes that prevent diseases, keeping people healthier, active and vibrantly contributing to their communities longer thereby reducing public health care expenses.  Extension work encompasses agricultural management practices and community development. 

The original Smith-Lever charter statement remains true after 100 years, that the purpose of Extension is "better farming, better living, more happiness, more education, and better citizenship" for the "entire country."

For 100 years, MSU Extension has been educating in local communities. We should celebrate the past 100 years, but more importantly, we should be visionaries in planning for the next 100.  I encourage you to post a comment below to share your vision for your Extension program for the next century.  

Other Resources:

Steve Stark
More on Steve Stark
Morrill Act
Hatch Act
Smith-Lever Act