Category: Cooperative Extension
Sussex County's Kaitlyn Johnson receives 4-H Diamond Clover Award for community service
October 28, 2025 Written by Michele Walfred, Communications Specialist. Photos by Michele Walfred and courtesy of Kaitlyn Johnson
For her work in assembling activity bags for young preschoolers attending the Indian River Early Learning Center, Kaitlyn Johnson, 20, of Selbyville, was honored with the prestigious 4-H Diamond Clover Award earlier this fall.
Created in 2014, the Diamond Clover Award celebrates and acknowledges excellence in extraordinary, sustained, and focused service learning by youth in their communities. Delaware 4-H is coordinated and administered through the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension.
The Diamond Clover is not an annual award. Each 4-H member is required to identify a community need and undergo a process — a multi-year journey that involves extensive documentation of a significant community service project with lasting impact. The award is similar in significance to the Eagle Scout award.
Johnson, a UD Honors junior studying mechanical engineering, worked on the projects on weekends and during seasonal breaks. Her local 4-H club, the Country Clovers, has long adopted the learning center, located in Frankford, as the focus for community service. Johnson’s older sister, Madison, earned her Diamond Clover working with the same organization.
“She made these adorable little blanket care packages, and so I helped her with her project when she went through it, so I had a little bit of experience,” Johnson said.
Johnson originally wanted to provide activity bags during the holiday season. Her project expanded after discussing her ideas with Jill Jackson, Sussex County 4-H Extension educator.
“Kaitlyn worked hard on this project and far exceeded her expectations on how many youth were impacted,” said Jackson. ‘Her project grew to impact the youth in the fall, winter and during the summer.”
In the summer, Johnson created activity packages delivered in colorful sand buckets. Each contained sidewalk chalk, sunglasses and a beach ball.
The reward for her efforts was in the reactions from the 3 and 4-year-old students who attend the learning center.
“It's so amazing to see the smiles on their faces, and how excited they get and when someone comes into their school to be able to help them out and give them something that they can enjoy,” Johnson said.
At the end of summer, Johnson put together a “back to school” activity packet that included books, pencils and stickers.
To fund her project, Johnson received mini-grants from the Atlantic Community Thrift Shop in Ocean View, Sussex County 4-H in Georgetown and book donations from the Christian Storehouse in Millsboro.
Her favorite part of the project was delivering the bags, buckets and kits to the youngsters. The feedback was immediate. “It's that instant gratification that I'm making an impact on those around me, and I'm trying to make their lives better. It is so nice to see your hard work pay off.”
Community service, long a hallmark of the 4-H program, is built into Johnson’s DNA. Her mother, Rebecca, grew up in 4-H and now serves as the club’s organizational leader, along with her father, Keith, who serves as co-leader. After college, Johnson will continue to volunteer and remain active with the Country Clovers.
As she reflects on her nine years as a 4-H member, Johnson gives high praise to the 4-H organization, which she views as a perfect complement to her family’s encouragement to give back to the community.
“It's been such an amazing experience to be able to learn all those things and apply all these things that, honestly, not a lot of people my age can say that they know how to do and what they've done,” Johnson said.
Highlights of her 4-H career included participation in sewing and public speaking, and with major leadership events such as the 4-H National Conference in Washington, D.C, and the National Congress held in Atlanta.
“With each of those, I was able to do some community service as well, which was really fun. All in all,
4-H has given me such an amazing opportunity to expand myself. 4-H is such a wonderful program.”
Delaware 4-H is the largest youth program in the state, reaching an average of 31,000 youth a year through clubs, special events, overnight and day camps, and in-school and after-school programs. It is supported by the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension and is an equal opportunity provider. Please visit the Delaware 4-H website for more information email Ernie Lopez.