by Whitney Cherry | Apr 13, 2016
Jerry is a retiree and currently volunteers in the 4-H learning gardens in Calhoun County, working as he is available. He also answers my many gardening questions and offers advice. I’m grateful for his commitment to the Calhoun County 4-H program, and am glad to share his 4-H story with you today in his own words. Jerry says:
“I became involved in 4-H at age nine so that I could go to camp. My older sister and brother were going, and I didn’t want to be left out. At camp, I caught the 4-H “bug” and it has never let me go.
As a member of 4-H, I always found new and interesting challenges to do such as learning to swim at camp, collecting insects, growing a garden, raising and showing calves and pigs, farm judging at North Florida Fair, judging beef cattle at Tampa, Florida and dairy cows at Waterloo, Iowa, and attending 4-H Congress at Gainesville. All provided experiences and knowledge that were not available to me elsewhere.
Youth enjoying the Calhoun County 4-H Learning Gardens which Mr. Wyrick helps to maintain.
Now in a volunteer capacity, I enjoy watching members grow and enjoy new and novel experiences which are available through 4-H Club programs and knowing that I am helping young people grow to be positive examples for their peers. “I continue to volunteer with 4-H because of the payback of having previous 4-H members relate to me what 4-H meant to them and how it helped them to achieve their personal accomplishments. If young people are expected to be positive influences on society, they must be provided examples and knowledge of meaningful lives. They must be exposed to new ideas and experiences so that they know choices are available to them. If the next generation is to be different – is to be a positive generation – they must be taught as young people. There are no better teaching methods than those available through 4-H Club programs.”
If you are not already a volunteer, think about sharing your talents with us! You can fuel the extraordinary efforts of our youth by joining us as a volunteer. To find out more, contact your local UF IFAS Extension Office or visit http://florida4h.org/volunteers. Happy National Volunteer Appreciation Week!
by Whitney Cherry | Apr 12, 2016
Students in Mrs. Peacocks 5th grade science class explored the Laws of Motion during 4-H National Science Day.
It’s day two of National Volunteer Week, and today our 4-H volunteer spotlight is on Mrs. Kim Peacock. Kim is a 5th grade science teacher at Blountstown Elementary School in Calhoun County. Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Kim about her experiences with 4-H in the classroom.
When I asked her what advice she has for someone who is thinking about becoming a 4-H volunteer, she responded, “I would definitely encourage them to do it. Especially teachers. If you can have 4-H programs in your classroom, you really should. It’s ok not to know anything about the topic going into it, because that’s what school is for – learning. And it’s ok to learn along with our students sometimes.
4-H has really made a difference in my students’ lives. We’ve done so many things. An Ag Adventures field trip where they learned about local ag commodities like corn, cotton, and peanuts; National Youth Science Day, where we built and launched rockets right there at school, and embryology projects where we learned about the embryonic development of baby chicks and hatched eggs in our classroom. I probably never would have done any of these things on my own, so first and foremost is the exposure to new and different things that I think makes a difference. But beyond that, I’ve seen my students gain confidence, show curiosity, and get truly excited about math and science without even realizing it.
These are the things they will remember when they leave school. These are experiences they will never forget, and if nothing else, it makes me feel good to know that despite what life may throw at them in the future they will always have these happy childhood memories to hold on to. Any opportunity that comes my way to add a 4-H project to my classroom in the future, I’m going to take it. It’s a no brainer. This is good stuff, and our kids deserve it.”
Although our traditional programs revolve around clubs, 4-H also offers opportunities for volunteers and teachers to provide 4-H opportunities in school settings both during and afterschool. These programs are a great way for youth to get a “taste of 4-H” before committing to longer term involvement in a club. 4-H Afterschool clubs also provide access to 4-H to youth who might not have transportation to evening or weekend club meetings. For more information about 4-H school programs, read this previous blogpost on 4-H Opportunities for Schools. If you are a teacher or community member that would like to make a difference at our local school, think about sharing your talents with us! You can fuel the extraordinary efforts of our youth by joining us as a volunteer. To find out more, contact your local UF IFAS Extension Office or visit http://florida4h.org/volunteers. Happy National Volunteer Appreciation Week!
4-H school programs include not only science, but public speaking, ag awareness, and even money management to help youth learn “soft skills” that employers seek.
by Jena Gilmore | Apr 11, 2016
What drives a 4-H Volunteer to do what they do? Quite simply, quoting Elizabeth Andrew,
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the HEART.” In relation to 4-H, they have a heart that bleeds green!
Jamie with her market lambs.
Jamie Burgess joined 4-H in 1990 with her first project in market lambs. Throughout high school she showed lambs and cattle and later ventured into projects in livestock judging, meats judging, public speaking, and automotive driving. In 2002, she was hired as the 4-H Program Assistant in Walton County. Later, she moved into other careers, but states “4-H stayed close to my heart.” Two years ago she met her current co-leader on the Walton County Fair Board who bragged about the support she was getting from 4-H with her Livestock Club. Jamie couldn’t resist any longer, she became the Livestock Club co-leader and the rest is history.
Grand Showman 1st place Beef Heifer
Due to her cooperative leadership in the Livestock Club, 4-H members showed in every showmanship class in the Walton County Fair! This was an amazing accomplishment for the club and the agriculture community. New community partners in Walton County now provide support to 4-H after seeing the immense growth of self-confidence, accomplishment, and dedication of 4-H’ers in the county. When asked how 4-H has made a difference in the lives of her 4-H’ers and the community Jamie states, “We are slowly bringing youth in agriculture back out into the spotlight. Agriculture is the backbone of America. Most of the counties in the Panhandle have strong roots in agriculture and we have a large farming community in Walton County. 4-H is a great way to draw attention to the Agriculture industry in a positive way!”
The 4-H national campaign “4-H Grows,” not only relates to growing life skills in our youth but also inspiring further development of these skills in our volunteers. Jamie credits her inspiration to keep growing to the amazing group of volunteers and youth she gets to work with. With Jamie’s uniqueness in experience she has seen challenges from all ends of the spectrum and states time restraints are by far the biggest struggle but to remember, “Be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It takes time to build a great 4-H club. Use the buddy system! Find someone you know you can work with and join forces as co-leaders. I have a great co-leader. We feed off of each other’s enthusiasm and we pick each other up when we get discouraged.”
Jamie teaching flight & kick zones to the Livestock Club.
Walton County 4-H is very fortunate to have such a dedicated and dependable volunteer serving the youth of our community. Jamie constantly volunteers her time to 4-H in all capacities and encourages her 4-H’ers to do the same. When asked what 4-H has done for her, she proudly states, “Wow! 4-H has impacted my life in so many ways. I learned responsibility, animal husbandry, and patience through my livestock projects. The judging teams taught me how to evaluate and compare and most importantly how to make an educated decision. Through public speaking and leadership activities, I gained confidence and learned how to make my voice heard as well as hear the voices of others. I met most of my closest friends through 4-H. My history in 4-H led me to my choice in careers. I currently work with my best 4-H friend at the Natural Resource Conservation Service. I get to work with farmers in my community building conservation plans to help them help the land. My own kids are now in 4-H and I am getting to watch their growth as they take on more projects. I simply can’t wait to see the adults they will become after being shaped by 4-H.”
To learn more about how you can volunteer in your own county, please contact your local extension agent. Volunteering is a time investment that will pay you back exponentially through the growth you see in the youth and program you’re affiliated with. Volunteers come in all forms from club leaders, to committee members, to over-night chaperones. Follow the links below to see how you can help 4-H expand our capacity to reach more youth, more families, and more communities through utilizing your skills, your knowledge, and your story! Come back tomorrow to read another 4-H volunteer’s story.
Florida 4-H Volunteer Resources
Volunteer Training Series
4-H in the Panhandle Blog
by Heather Kent | Apr 8, 2016
Our volunteers help make clubs, camps, and other educational programs possible so that we can Grow 4-H in Florida! Photo credit: National 4-H Council
Sunday, April 10th, marks the beginning of National Volunteer Week. A recent study found that volunteers are directly responsible for teaching as much as 50% of the life skills a youth learns through the 4-H program (Fogarty et al). Volunteers are essential to the delivery of the 4-H program, and starting on Sunday, we want to share some of their stories with you.
Our volunteers come to us with a variety of expertise. Some volunteer a little, some volunteer a lot, but every single one of them makes a difference. And they all have one thing in common: to ignite that spark in the next generation by sharing their passion, knowledge and skills. 4-H is delivered in several different ways; our most traditional way is through community clubs. We also have clubs that are centered around a particular project or subject such as robotics, fishing, sewing, etc. Some clubs event meet during or after school. There are also short-term programs that are delivered through the schools such as embryology, 4-H/Tropicana Public Speaking, gardening, and agricultural awareness. Another popular way we deliver 4-H is through our residential and day camping programs. 4-H volunteers help make all of this possible under the leadership and direction of their local 4-H Extension Agent.
Each day, we will highlight a different type of 4-H volunteer to give you an overview of the different roles our volunteers serve. We hope this series will not only inspire you, but create more awareness of our volunteer programs. Most importantly, we want to recognize the wonderful contributions that each of these volunteers is making. If you are not already a volunteer, think about sharing your talents with us! You can fuel the extraordinary efforts of our youth by joining us as a volunteer. To find out more, contact your local UF IFAS Extension Office or visit http://florida4h.org/volunteers. Happy National Volunteer Appreciation Week- we hope you will enjoy our series as much as we enjoy working with our incredible volunteers!
by pmdavis | Apr 7, 2016
Hearts of Gold 4-H Club
Hearts of Gold 4-H Club and many others will be sporting the color Purple to support military youth on April 8! Join them celebrating April Month of the Military Child and Purple UP! Day April 8 or April 15. Be creative….the goal is for military youth to see the support in their school, youth groups, and the community! If you don’t have or own a purple shirt wear a purple ribbon, tie, headband etc. Just show your support and let our youth know we care about them! Can’t make the 8th then do something another day in April. We would like to encourage you to take pictures of your group wearing purple and share them on social media http://fb.me/msg/bayifas . This allows us to honor our young heroes and their families for their commitment and sacrifice for our freedom!
