Join us in remodeling the Wadena County 4-H building on the fairgrounds in Wadena.

On behalf of Friends of Wadena County Youth, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation for your time, consideration and your potential support. Together we can make a real and lasting difference for our youth and our community. Your contribution will have a profound impact and we truly believe that by working together, we can create a brighter future for all.

We are seeking your support and partnership for an important cause that is close to our hearts, one that we strongly believe will make a significant impact for our youth and be a positive opportunity for our community.

The newly formed “Friends of Wadena County Youth” - a non-profit 501-(c)-3 organization - has been established and is anxious to begin their first project: remodeling the Wadena County 4-H building on the fairgrounds in Wadena. After much research, planning, many meetings, and input from 4-H and community members, we are ready to move forward with this very exciting endeavor.

Since 4-H began more than 100 years ago, it has become the nation’s largest youth development organization. The 4-H idea is simple: help young people and their families gain the skills needed to be proactive forces in their communities and develop ideas for a more innovative economy. In its history, Wadena County 4-H has enrolled over 10,000+ members. One of the largest fundraisers that supports the Wadena County 4-H each year is the operation of the 4-H Food Stand during the county fair. 4-H’ers from all clubs participate in a wide range of tasks: cleaning, food preparation, food sales, working the till and communicating with the public. Working the 4-H food stand provides many life-long skills and memories for our youth.

The Wadena County 4-H building, with its kitchen, dining hall, large exhibit space and bathrooms, was constructed in 1985. With age, the state of the kitchen has begun to deteriorate. Remodeling the kitchen will allow us to continue the legacy of the 4-H food stand and its youth opportunities, while also allowing the “up to code” commercial kitchen to be rented for catering and meal prep for large gatherings.

While this portion of the project fulfills the immediate needs of the local 4-H organization, it will also fill the void of a much-needed community event center. The exhibit area portion of the building is currently not insulated and is not used during the winter months. Our renovation project will insulate the large room and allow for year- round usage with ample space for events. This remodeled space will not only allow 4-H to use the entire building year-round, it will be available for community events such as weddings, large group meetings, business trainings and large banquets. We believe this will have a positive impact on our local business community by bringing people into the Wadena area.

The scope of this project involves completely renovating the bathrooms, upgrading the kitchen equipment, insulating the large meeting area, adding storage space, updating the exterior, purchasing new tables and chairs, installing a new public address speaker system and adding new HVAC systems. Preliminary estimates for labor and materials exceed $400,000. To date, over $150,000 has been committed – so we are off to a great start!

Proposed Floor Plan