National 4-H
Mission: 4-H empowers youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults.
Vision: A world in which youth and adults learn, grow and work together as catalysts for positive change.
Pledge: I pledge my head to clearer thinking; my heart to greater loyalty; my hands to larger service; and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world.
Motto: To make the best better.
Organizational Phrase: “Learning by doing”
Emblem: Four Leaf Clover in green with four white H’s representing the Head, Heart Hands and Health. White is for purity and the colour green symbolizes the most abundant color found in nature.
Begun in 1918 (Cedar River Rascals, 2009), 4-H was started with the notions of “practical and hands-on learning”. Originally, it was thought of as a way to bring “school education and country life together". The early 4-H programs were seen as a way in which youth could introduce new agricultural practices and technology to current agrarian practices. With time 4-H saw great growth and attention across the nation. Today, 4-H has approximately 6 million youth engaged in active “leadership, citizenship and life skills” training, it encompasses more than 518,000 volunteers, 3,500 staff and more than 60 million alumni and is supported by land-grant university research, providing programs in 3,000+ counties.
4-H works in conjunction with the United State’s Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), which in turn partners with the Land-Grant University research programs in order to create youth outreach and development programs amongst several others such as the Master Gardener’s Association.
King County 4-H
Additionally, King County also harbors supplementary Mission and Vision statements:
Mission: 4-H youth development education creates supportive environments for all youth and families to reach their fullest potential. This will be accomplished through a systemic approach of foundation and mission driven science to meet our goals.
Vision: Washington State University 4-H Youth Development is developing young people to become productive citizens who are engaged in positive change, meeting the needs of a diverse and changing society.
4-H in King County is a partnership between Washington’s Land-Grant University Washington State University (WSU), the USDA, and the King County Government (The 4-H Story, 2009). 4-H has been an integral aspect of King County and has reached both the rural and urban areas, as well as attracting youth from all types of backgrounds (e.g. cultural, economic, ethnic, etc) (King County 4-H Association, 2009).
Within each county there exists multiple clubs, made up of youth from a given area, interested in the above principles and above all having fun, while learning under the guidance of a “trained and caring adult” (The 4-H Story, 2009). Each club focuses on different topic areas called “Projects” such as cats or cavies, arts & crafts, youth leadership and/or computer science, to name just a few. The possibility of areas is endless, due to the fact that if there is not an area for it, a club and/or young person may be the first to begin that particular project! Each young person is encouraged to keep Record Books, which include expenses, plans or goals for the year, and are to maintain a record of their project progress throughout the year. Meetings are times for youth to gain leadership experience and share project knowledge with one another through games, public presentations and study sessions. All activities are led by the youth themselves with guidance from various club leaders (parents and volunteers). All activities focus on developing each youth’s potential for the future, giving confidence and encouragement throughout their time spent participating in 4-H programs.
Background-Why do we care? Why do I care?
Statistics and Importance of Youth Engagement:
· “… [it was] found that, through Grade 9, 4-H youth are substantially more likely than other youth to make contributions to their communities!”.
· 4-Hers are more likely to do better in school and maintain above normal grade point averages.
· 4-Hers are less likely to engage in ‘at-risk’ behavior; in fact 90% less likely as stated in current research .
Furthermore, “integrating the theoretical ideas about the plasticity of adolescent development and the practical findings about the multiple pathways children take through adolescence led to the framework now known as Positive Youth Development (PYD), which views young people as resources to be developed rather than as problems to be managed” and is how 4-H works with and views Youth.
Why I care:
As a former member of 4-H, along with a continued support of the organization, I believe that it is a worthwhile youth development program engaging youth from all backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations and abilities with absolutely no discrimination. It is both urban and rural and in essence is a preventative program through extracurricular education and leadership opportunities. It is something I hope to see my children and grandchildren involved in one day, because I see 4-H as a perfect example of a program that has produced many state and national leaders (even former presidents) as well as civically minded and often engaged community members.
*All information regarding National and King County 4-H obtained via the National 4-H Website http://4-h.org/ and the King County Cooperative Extension website http://king.wsu.edu/4H/KingCounty4-HAssociation.html.
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