By Brenda Young, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development
4-H members in Crawford County are youth ages 5 and in kindergarten to age 19 as of January 1 of the current year who have enrolled in a club or county 4-H experience. They might be your neighbor or friend.
There are two parts to the 4-H Club program.
Cloverbud members are age 5 and in Kindergarten to age 8 and in second grade. In Cloverbuds, members work with a specially trained volunteer. The focus of the Cloverbud program is cooperative learning and meetings are activity focus directed by the volunteer.
Project members are age 8 and in third grade in a more traditional 4-H club where meetings are made up of business, learning and social time. Projects are an individually directed experience with the help of a project helper The project helper can be and often is a family member.
Members are expected to participate in at most of their club’s eight required meetings and complete projects or activities for which they enroll. Completion includes an interview experience about the project experience.
Clubs are made up of at least five members from three different families who are led by an officially recognized 4-H volunteer. These volunteers have gone through a process to be trained and recognized. They have completed an application, participated in an interview with the 4-H Educator, provided references which have been checked, been fingerprinted/ background checked, and participated in a volunteer orientation suited to the part of the program they are volunteering to lead.
In Crawford County, 4-H volunteers are provided with newsletters, web-based information, and asked to participate in volunteer training every three years.
Clubs must also meet charter requirements every year in order to use the 4-H name and emblem.
As you can see, 4-H clubs, volunteers and members must fulfill requirements to participate. This ensures the safety and security of the 4-H name for both members and the program.
There currently are 24 4-H clubs in Crawford County. They vary in size from 5 to 80 members, are in different areas of the county, and meet at different time frames and locations.
There are over 200 projects in which members may enroll. Visit project Central to explore them at www.projectcentral.ohio 4h.org .
4-H Project Clubs focus on learning, business meetings, and community service projects. The club is not only great social time but an opportunity to learn leadership skills by taking on a leadership role as an officer or committee member.
If you have little or no knowledge about 4-H and wish to know more, come to the 4-H kick-off on March 2 from 2-4 p.m. at the Youth Building to explore project books, learn about clubs available, and ask questions. You will have the opportunity to talk to current members, volunteers, and 4-H program staff.
4-H enrollment deadline for participation in competitive events such as fair is April 1. Before that time, youth will need to contact an existing 4-H volunteer and complete the paperwork necessary to register and pay their club dues. This allows the volunteer to return the information by April 1.
Other events that many 4-H members participate in during the summer months are: 4-H Cloverbud FUN Day, 4-H Project Interview Judging, Skillathon, 4-H Camp, and the Crawford County Junior Fair. Join now and be a part of the FUN and learning!
For more information contact OSU Extension at 419-562-8731.