4-H spans oceans
4-H has gone global! There are 4-H programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Western Europe. Here in the United States, 4-H is a community of more than 6.5 million young people located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Together, with assistance from more than 500,000 adult volunteers, they learn leadership, citizenship and life skills. The 4-H program is administered by 106 land-grant universities across the country which deliver research-based programs through Extension Agents in more than 3,000 counties. The Lake County 4-H program is administered by the Montana State University Lake County Office in Ronan. Extension Agents Nori Pearce and Jack Stivers, Administrative Supervisor Pat Bristol and 4-H Program Assistant Brittnee Benson assist 4-H members and volunteers with their projects, programs, activities and events.
4-H began around the start of the 20th century, with people working in different parts of the United States who were concerned about young people and ways to connect youth with more educational opportunities. Early programs tied both public and private resources together for the purpose of helping rural youth.
During this same time, researchers within the land-grant college system and the United States Department of Agriculture saw that adults in farming communities did not readily accept new agricultural practices. But, educators found that youth would experiment with these new ideas and then share their experiences and successes with adults. Thus, rural youth programs became a way to introduce new agricultural technology to adults.
When Congress created the Cooperative Extension Service in 1914 its directives included boys’ and girls’ club work. This work became known as 4-H clubs. Currently, there are 12 4-H clubs in Lake County. In the Ronan area there are the following clubs: Round Butte Future Stockmen, Rocky Mountain Explorers, Mission Valley Rangers, and Saddle Mountain. In the Polson area there are three clubs: Flathead Lake Pioneer, Pistols and Ponytails, and the Pend d’Orielle Gleaners. In the Charlo area two clubs currently exist: the Ninepipe Explorers, and the Charlo Junior Stockgrowers. The Mission Valley Club meets in the Saint Ignatius area, the Leon Community Club meets at the Leon Clubhouse and the Dayton Cowboys meet in the Dayton area. When you join 4-H in Lake County you join a 4-H club. Each club has its own identity and special interests.
Over the years, the focus of 4-H has become the personal growth of each individual 4-H member. Life skills development has been built into 4-H projects, activities and events. These life skills help youth become contributing, productive and self-directed members of society.
The 266 current members enrolled in Lake County 4-H participate in fun, hands-on learning activities. 4-H offers more than 100 different projects and learning experiences. There are opportunities from learning how to cook to raising an animal, from ATV riding to robotics, from shooting sports to photography. A member may also choose to participate in one or many educational activities. These activities include such things as project workshops, where they may learn to do something differently than they do now, or a contests or events - such as many of the events at the Lake County Fair where member’s projects are judged against other projects.
4Hers can travel with other 4-H members on club trips or a county trip. In June Lake County 4-H members and leaders are taking a fun and educational trip to Lewis and Clark Caverns where they will even learn to pan for gold. Older 4-H members can choose to travel alone on a 4-H sponsored trip to almost anywhere in the world. Amanda Brandt of Kalispell traveled to Finland and Switzerland with the International 4-H Youth Exchange program this past year. She loves to share her experiences with 4-H clubs and community groups. To schedule her to present to your program, contact Nori at the Lake County Extension Office at 676-4271.
Adult volunteers guide and help 4-H youth with their projects, activities and events. Sixty-eight adult volunteers are currently enrolled as leaders in the Lake County 4-H program. Together with the youth, these leaders identify issues and needs, and then develop strategies to address the need. Together, youth and leaders identify opportunities and ways to learn more about themselves and the project or activity they are working on. Adult volunteers and 4-H members work together side-by-side on every project, activity or event. Older, more experienced 4-H members become leaders to younger youth who may be experiencing a project or event for the first time or who may need help with a project. Youth develop valuable service and teaching skills while working with younger or less experienced members.
Research has shown that children do well when families do well, and families do better when they live in supportive communities. 4-H youth development programs strive to involve parents and family members, while building a supportive community for families and youth through activities and educational programs. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and more are an important part in supporting a 4-H member’s project and activities.
The 4 H’s stand for Head, Heart, Hands and Health. These 4 H’s represent values members and volunteers work on through their selected 4-H projects and activities. The Head represents managing and thinking, the Heart represents relating and caring, the Hands represent giving and working, and the Health represents being and living. The 4-H 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” is recited before every 4-H meeting. It reminds us all that 4-H is so much more than just a 4-H project!