4-H’ers in Logan, Menard & Sangamon counties will join 6 million other youth currently in 4-H celebrating National 4-H Week Oct. 6-12 with a theme of “Inspired to Lead | Called to Serve”. Last year, 711 young people in Logan, Menard & Sangamon counties were involved in 4-H Community clubs where, assisted by volunteer adult leaders, they learned about careers, leadership and citizenship. Another 8,645 youth were involved in 4-H through school, after school and community-partner organizations.
”4-H’ers learn by doing philosophy encourages youth to experiment, innovate, and think independently, said Carissa Davis, University of Illinois Extension Youth Development Educator. “4-H grows confident kids who tackle issues that matter most in their communities.” Illinois 4-H members prepare for their future by studying careers related to their 4-H project. “They choose from more than 100 projects to study,” said Davis. Topics range from rocketry, computer game design, public speaking to photography, animal science, nutrition, and more.
Local 4-H members have been “inspired to lead and called to serve” in a number of ways. Ethan Bertram, a 16 year old 4-H member of Atlanta Ag 4-H and The Pioneers 4-H Clubs says “I like the way my club affects both the local and global community. Our Spaghetti Meal basket and baking for the Atlanta Fall Festival had a good effect on the local community. Baking for Harvest of Talents and filling shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child helped the global community providing assistance for people around the world!”
Caroline Ahrends, a 16 year old 4-H member of the Chester 4-H club states “I have been able to be part of the 4-H Exchange to Japan and encourage other 4-H’ers to seek travel experiences through 4-H. Because of the Japan experience I joined a local church on their mission trip to Haiti, where I taught soccer to girls, VBS, and helped out with an eye clinic. This was eye opening for me to see how privileged I am and hope to continue to help others.”
Daniel Kloppe, an 18 year old 4-H member of the West Side 4-H Club, states, “One of the biggest things I have learned from my 4-H experience is the correlation between time spent, effort, and success. The more time spent working with my birds and using it productively, leads to better success. This may seem pretty obvious, but knowing something and experiencing it are two different things. After experiencing this, I see that I can achieve success and I can look to repurposing that sort of effort to achieve success with everything I do.”
Michael Moldenhauer, an 11 year old 4-H member of the Town & County 4-H Club, says, “Our club does a lot of service projects. This year we packed backpacks for foster kids. We put in books, toothpaste, toiletries, socks and blankets in each bag. We also tied blankets for children at St. John’s Children’s Hospital. I like the cooking projects because they are fun to do. I get to bake and eat what I make. I especially liked making bread, cookies, and Rice Krispies. Next year I would like to make more breads.”
4-H club membership is open to youth aged 8 – 18. Youth 5 to 7 years of age may join the 4-H Cloverbud program. To learn more about 4-H and further information on how to enroll your child in a local club, contact Logan County 4-H at 732-8289; Menard County 4-H at 632-7491; Sangamon County 4-H at 782-4617.