ROME TOWNSHIP — Terri Taylor knows firsthand what being a part of 4-H can do to help a youngster grow.

“I took them all,” Taylor said about the animals she entered at the Lawrence County Junior 4-H Fair. “I entered sheep mainly, but also horses, calves, rabbits, chickens. There is no replacement for teaching kids responsibility.”

That’s why she has joined an ad hoc committee whose sole purpose is to raise funds for building a new barn at the fairgrounds.

“We are trying to raise money for anything related to the barn project,” Taylor, committee treasurer, said. “We are trying to assist the fair board and get anything to go toward the barn construction as well as for the pens purchased for the inside.”

Right now the committee has raised $10,000, mainly by word of mouth.

“We have been contacting local businesses and those folks who are friends of the organization as well as those in the Tri-State,” she said.

The committee also wants to get the 4-Hers involved in helping pay for their new barn, inside and out.

“We are trying to engage the 4-H Clubs at the local level,” she said. “They will be doing some fundraising.”

Groundbreaking is expected on the $400,000 barn and livestock arena in February with the facility to be ready by this year’s fair in July.

“4-H is such a worthy cause and having been a 4-Hers I know the benefits it can be for the individuals,” Taylor said. “It teaches kids so much. It is a major commitment not only from youth but their family. It is a family commitment. It is not just the child himself. It is the entire family. Families needs to work together, play together, live together.”