Special Edition • Morrow County Fair and Rodeo • Heppner Gazette-Times, Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - Page 13
4-H volunteer leaders
are awesome!
The 4-H program relies
on volunteer adult leaders to
organize and lead groups o f
4-H m em bers. We currently
have 51 trained and active 4-H
Leaders in M orrow County.
R esearch show s that youth
who have a non-parental adult
as a friend, teacher and mentor
do better than youth without
such an adult presence. As a
4-H leader and educator, you
are in a position o f great influ
ence. You can channel mem
bers’ curiosity, inspire new
interests, and continually offer
new opportunities for them to
grow and develop into happy
and productive adults. You can
be the key to a young person’s
success.
A recent study showed that
most 4-H leaders volunteer
because they are interested in
making a difference in the lives
of young people. While some
4-H leaders have expertise in
a particular content area, such
as animal science, it is not a
requirement. The 4-H program
is always looking for quality,
committed adult volunteers. If
you are interested in exploring
becom ing a 4-H volunteer,
please call or visit the Exten
sion office.
Studies show that each
4-H volunteer gives an average
o f 200 hours o f time annually
to the 4-H Youth Development
program. Looking at Oregon’s
6.000 volunteers, that means
1.200.000 hours are given an
nually to help youth develop
skills for a lifetime. Nationally,
the current estim ated dollar
value o f volunteer time is about
$20 per hour. Not only are 4-H
volunteer leaders awesom e,
but the value o f their time to
Oregon 4-H is more than $20
million annually.
INSURANCE
** v
What is 4-H?
v
ence, hom e econom ics and
expressive arts project areas. If
you can think o f it.. .we will try
to make it happen.
W hat do you
do in 4-H? It de
pends on you. 4-H
members may be a
friend in the same
grade or school, or
include people from
other communities.
C lubs decide how often to
meet and elect officers to con
duct club business. Your club
may decide to be active in the
community, raise money for
charity, become involved in re
cycling projects or build nature
trails. You can go on field trips
or to 4-H camp. The choices
grow as you get older.
D oes 4-H c o st a lot?
There are no national dues or
required uniforms. The state
requires a $15 per m em ber
enrollm ent fee, $30 fam ily
Providing M ain S treet Service
. v /
« •
W hat is 4-H ? F rien d s,
fun and learning about nature,
cooking, growing plants, pho
tography, animal care or work
ing together to help others.
Who can belong to 4-H?
Anyone kindergarten through
12th grade. You’ll find 4-H
throughout your county, state,
country and the world. Kinder
garteners through third graders
can join 4-H Cloverbud clubs.
4-H Cloverbuds is an infor
mal educational program de
signed specifically for children
in grades K-3. The program
appeals to young children’s
natural curiosity, enthusiasm
for learning and high energy
levels by providing an oppor
tunity for active learning in a
non-competitive environment.
In M orrow County, we have
about 185 members in grades
four through 12.
What you can do in 4-H?
M embers can be enrolled in
anim al science, natural sci
m
** Jsr
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maximum, which goes to help
county 4-H programs, such as
lowering costs o f state publi
cations. There is an ad
ditional $5 per member
county enrollment fee
that goes toward project
materials and insurance
in most clubs. Your 4-H
club may decide to col
lect dues to fund special
activities.
How do you join 4-H?
It’s easy. Choose the project
you like. Ask some friends or
brothers and sisters to join you.
A sk parents, grandparents,
ad u lt frien d s or n e ig h b o r
hood adults to be your leader.
Several adults can share this
responsibility. You need only
tw o m em bers, but you can
have as many as you like. De
termine the projects your club
would like to enroll in and visit
the Extension office or call an
agent for help. There are also
num erous active clubs that
welcome new members.
4-H is Learning Today,
L e a d in g T om orrow and
“ Learning by Doing.” Learn
ing how to set goals and work
toward those goals; responsi
bility— for an animal, finish
ing projects, choosing how
much to learn and deciding
how involved in 4-H to be—
leadership, decision-making,
cooperation and how to present
yourself and ideas to others.
For information about the 4-H
Youth Development program,
contact the OSU Extension
office in Heppner, 541-676-
9642.
“As we approach fair time
let’s all try to keep in perspec
tive w hat we are try in g to
accomplish with the 4-H pro
gram and projects,” reminds
a local 4-H Extension agent.
“’W inning’ should not be the
goal. Doing the very best we
can should be the goal. If 4-H
m em bers have worked hard
on their projects all year, do
ing well in their classes will
come.”