We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
This past week, October 3 through October 9 was National 4-H Week. Blaine County 4-H celebrated with a membership campaign that was largely profiled on their Facebook page. Each day, Blaine County MSU-Extension Officials posted a new message featuring a poster child, the encouragement to “discover more at 4-H.org,” and this year’s theme, Find Your Spark! Finley’s Food Farm in Chinook also showcased the thoughts of select White Pine 4-H Club members.
The Find Your Spark! theme was created by the National 4-H Council to rally support for 4-H programs across the country and to identify solutions to eliminate the opportunity gap that affects 55 million youth across America.
Sunday’s message to Blaine County residents read: “4-H is a great program for youth ages 5-19 to learn new skills, meet new people, and participate in exciting activities!” As the week continued, those following the page would have learned that 4-H members “learn by doing,” strive to “make the best better,” and develop skills that “last a lifetime.”
To highlight ways that 4-H ignites these principles, the north window of Finley’s Food Farm displayed the reflections of various members of the White Pine 4-H Club. One member stated that she likes 4-H because “it teaches me how to be responsible, it is fun and you can make new friends, and you can get really good at art.”
Another created a poster with a collage of pictures titled “Why I Like 4-H.”
She lists three key reasons: “4-H helped me become a better baker, the horsemanship clinics helped me gain confidence on my horse, and I learned all about photography by reading my project book.”
A third stated: “4-H Sparks fair time, fun projects, and meeting new people.” The display further shared reasons to join 4-H as well as presented pictures of the club members participating in activities throughout the year.
Montana 4-H is a youth development program facilitated by Montana State University Extension. The first 4-H club was started in Clark County Ohio in 1902; other clubs quickly followed. Today, 4-H is the largest, out-of-school youth development and empowerment organization in Montana, reaching nearly 20,000 youth in all 56 counties each year. From projects imparting information for learning how to cook or sew, to raising an animal, pursuing conservation, or exploring robotics, 4-H offers youth more than 200 different opportunities for growth and discovery. Whether focusing on agriculture, civic engagement, or healthy living, 4-H members tackle the issues that matter most in their communities.
During National 4-H Week, local youth and volunteers came together with the larger 4-H family across the nation to celebrate over a hundred years of empowering youth with the leadership skills they need to succeed in life.
“The 2021-2022 4-H Year actually began on October first. Now is a perfect time to join the largest youth organization in the world! We would love to share this program with you,” exclaimed Juli Snedigar, MSU-Extension Ag/4-H Agent. She encourages interested persons to discover more at 4-H.org or to contact the Blaine County Extension Office at 357-3200 for answers to any questions.
