Our Illinois 4-H Story 2017

Google made quite a splash at the Illinois State Fair. Rob Biederman, head of Google's Midwest external affairs office, and Jennifer Sirangelo, president and CEO of National 4‑H Council, announced a $1.5 million dollar grant from Google to the national 4-H program to expand nationwide computer...

October 1 starts the biggest week in 4-H, National 4-H Week. 4-H membership is 6 million strong across the country, with more than 25 million alumni. Last year, more than 25,000 youth were 4-H club members in Illinois; another 170,000 youth were involved in 4-H through camps, after school programs...

When your survival depends on feeding a growing world population, who better to call than a 4-H alum who has spent his professional career working to maximize crop outputs on every acre. Sam Eathington's connection to agriculture started young growing up on a grain and livestock farm in west-...

We asked 4-H members and leaders the things for which they were thankful. Their answers make us smile during this time of Thanksgiving. 1. Life Skills Take your pick which skill you most attribute to your 4-H experience. Public speaking. Organization. Time Management. Teamwork....

We have a holiday tradition in our home. No, it has nothing to do with putting up decorations or cooking our favorite holiday recipe. Ever since the children were old enough to understand, we always try to do one thing. Give. Every time we go in a store to shop, we drop something in the kettle....

Some members do 4-H projects, then there is Anthony Warmack's version of a 4-H project. For years, he has made environmental sciences his passion. Robert Woodruff of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance has collaborated with Anthony on water quality and nutrient loss projects in the area. "I was...

What makes an Illinois teenager decide to travel to a new country and live for weeks with a family she's never met? For Lana Fitzgerald, it's adventure of the unknown. Lana was part of the 4-H intercultural exchange program and lived with a host family in South Korea for four weeks last summer....

Lessons come wrapped in all types of boxes. Here are five lessons every 4-H member knows. #5: You aren't going to win every time, and that's okay. How you lose is just as important as how you win. There's no way you're going to get through life #1 all the time. Real champions...

It's like suddenly seeing the world in a new way. That's how teens attending the Illinois 4-H Illini Summer Academies describe their time studying with University of Illinois instructors this week. From quantum mechanics and mutagenesis to honey bee health and family interactions, U of I staff...

To say 4-H at the Illinois State Fair was a success would be an understatement. Stir gently the 3,300+ exhibitors, a national media announcement with representatives from Google and Gov. Bruce Rauner present, perfect weather, an estimated 20,000 visitors to our exhibit area, and I can't imagine a...

We're listening now more than ever. Jump over to 4-H.illinois.edu and look at the new Illinois 4-H website. Yeah, we did that! Illinois 4-H is a thriving, growing, vital program reaching nearly 200,000 Illinois youth a year. In the past five...

Some 4-H teens have taken the "hands to larger service" challenge of the 4-H pledge to heart and focused their 4-H energy feeding their neighbors. Clare VanSpeybroeck was recently honored by Illinois 4-H as a state community service award winner for her efforts fighting local hunger. Together, with...

4-H, the largest youth development program in the nation, is calling on all alumni to raise their hands to help bring 4-H to 10 million youth by 2025. Currently 4-H empowers nearly six million young people in every county across America, including 26,500 4-H'ers in Illinois. For more than 100...