Friday, March 29, 2024

Why 4-H?

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National 4-H Week is celebrated annually during the first full week of October.

What is 4-H really? It’s certainly not just a group of kids that show livestock, as so many times the organization is stereotyped. 4-H is so much more. It is truly a scholarship program that teaches youth important life skills throughout their school years and beyond. It’s about people coming together in service-learning projects, learning to lead, and explore projects that could potentially become careers and/or lifelong passions. It’s about giving back to your community and learning the needs of your community. It’s about learning to be your best self in an environment with like-minded people who care about your future.

The 4-H program relies heavily upon adult volunteer leaders who inspire youth to pursue their passions among the Big Five Project groups: Family & Community Health, Natural Resources, Leadership & Citizenship, STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, and Math) and Agriculture & Livestock.

Breaking down those big five project areas, specific projects in the Family & Community Health group include: Consumer Education, Fashion & Interior Design, Foods & Nutrition, and Health & Personal Safety. Learning to make wise purchases as a consumer, eating a healthy diet, and understanding the importance of nutritious foods are just a few skills taught. Members not only learn vital skills but also showcase what they have learned in contest settings like the 4-H Food Challenge, Consumer Decision Making, and Fashion show contests.

The Natural Resources project group consists of fun projects like Entomology, Shooting Sports, Range Science, Sportfishing, Water Conservation & Education, and Wildlife & Fisheries. Members have the opportunity to learn while competing in contests like Plant Identification, Entomology collections, and target shooting with shotguns, rifles and pistols. Gun safety is a priority as certified instructors help members hone their skills.

Leadership & Citizenship just might be the most important group of projects taught by the 4-H program. Members participate in monthly meetings where they use parliamentary procedure to run their meetings in an orderly, diplomatic fashion. 4-H members learn to be confident leaders and speak up to accomplish goals. Each meeting occasion also presents a community service project opportunity. Some clubs participate in yearlong service projects and then culminate the project with a trip to the benefactor such as the Ronald McDonald House. The county 4-H Ambassador team also participates in monthly service projects benefitting our community. Public speaking is a very popular project because of the skills it gives members as they speak in their club meetings and possibly compete with an Educational Presentation about a topic of their choice.

STEM education is a broad category of projects that teaches photography/videography, robotics and other STEM related lessons. Members can practice with their teammates learning to code and program a robot that competes in Ag Robotics competitions. Capturing that perfect photo image is also a fun way to display your artistic talents at the 4-H photography contests and at the county youth fair.

If learning about agriculture and livestock is your passion, there are many projects in this group. Traditional livestock projects offer firsthand learning by raising and exhibiting livestock but also offered are dog training and showing, gardening, meat science, poultry and vet science. The county youth fair provides members the chance to exhibit their projects in the showring, while livestock and horse judging teams compete by identifying the best confirmation of their respective species.

Coryell County 4-H has experienced much success in all of the contests provided at the county, district, state and national competition levels. Many of our members have earned scholarships because of their dedication to judging teams and their overall 4-H career. Texas 4-H offers the largest scholarship program in the nation. As youths complete a 4-H record book each year, they document their project experiences, leadership, community service, honors and career investigation to leads to a scholarship application that has been built up through personal growth and excellence achieved over the years.

As we celebrate National 4-H Week, members are encouraged to not only celebrate but continue to investigate 4-H growth opportunities. Here are as few ideas provided by Texas 4-H to help appreciate your organization and show support and gratitude:

  • Role Model Monday: Write your role model a note and mail it to them.
  • Spirit Day Tuesday: Wear green and show your 4-H pride everywhere you go.
  • What's Your Why Wednesday: Spend four minutes in reflection of why you participate in 4-H. Share those thoughts with a friend and invite them to join 4-H.
  • Thankful Thursday: Give back to someone in your community. Do a random act of kindness, go serve at a local nursing home, take juice boxes to the local Boys and Girls Club, or just simply thank your teachers. The day is all about thankfulness.
  • Find your spark Friday: Post a picture on social media of your 4-H spark and tag @Texas4H.

For more information about 4-H in Coryell County, contact our agents at the County Extension Office at 254-865-2414 or visit our website and download the 2022-23 Membership Guide.