Penn State Extension wants to reach more Carbon County residents with information on various topics that may affect them.

On Thursday, Steve Alessi, client relationship manager for Penn State, and Kayla Fusselman, Carbon County 4-H extension educator, spoke about quite a few things going on in the extension and 4-H programs.

Alessi spoke about an outreach program Penn State Extension has for Carbon County residents and how to sign up.

“Currently, we have about 5,000 county residents that are receiving regular updates from Penn State Extension on upcoming programs, activities and educational material,” he said. “This is a small percentage of the whole county.”

He said that if you would like to receive updates on what is going on with the extension, residents can sign up at extension.psu.edu/aboutme and sign up for newsletters. You can then personalize what you would like to receive.

Some topics include gardening, the 4-H program, vegetable production, Christmas tree production and forest health.

Fusselman, who recently was named the educator in Carbon County, introduced herself to the program, noting that she started on March 1, but had previously worked as a part-time program assistant over the last two years as they worked on staffing.

Fusselman said that the Paper Clover campaign is currently taking place through May 8 at Tractor Supply in Lehighton.

The Paper Clover campaign is a fundraiser for the 4-H program that directly benefits the Carbon County 4-H program.

“If you donate $5, I will get $5 toward the county so that we can improve our programs,” she said.

The Carbon County 4-H program provides children ages 5 to 18 with various activities to learn how to become leaders in their community, as well as build skills for the future.

Groups include the livestock club, seasonal 4-H Clubs, Mahoning Valley Community Club and the Cloverbuds.

For more information on Carbon County 4-H, Fusselman can be reached at klf5601@psu.edu or you can call the extension office at 570-413-0022.