Foundation Celebrates National 4-H Week

Iowa 4-H Foundation to Celebrate National 4-H Week

AMES, Iowa - More than 6 million young people across the United States will be celebrating National 4-H Week October 6-12, which takes place annually during the first full week of October. The Iowa 4-H Foundation leverages National 4-H Week to celebrate the great things that the Iowa 4-H youth development program offers young people and highlights the incredible 4-H young people who each day work to a make a positive impact on their community.

The Iowa 4-H Foundation has dedicated each day to one of the four “H’s” of 4-H with the final day celebrating the 4-H color green. Counties throughout Iowa are encouraged to create their own ideas or to use these ideas to celebrate National 4-H Week:

Monday: Head

·         The foundation will be displaying a 4-H History Table for guests of the 4-H Youth and Extension building on Iowa State University’s campus.

·         Trivia questions and facts on the foundation’s Facebook and Twitter.                

Tuesday: Heart

·         A “What 4-H Means to Me” board to see how 4-H has impacted the staff at the state office.   

·         The Iowa 4-H Foundation will be releasing recently added county histories on their website.

Wednesday: Health

·         The foundation staff will be joining the Healthiest State Initiative’s Healthiest State Walk at Iowa State University at noon participating in the North Loop. 

·         Staff will be bringing healthy GREEN Snacks such as green apples, broccoli, and sugar snap peas.

Thursday: Hands

The foundation will be donating items to the Rosedale Shelter in Ames, which is sponsored by the Youth and Shelter Services, Inc.                                                                                                                                                  

Friday: 4-H Green Day

Volunteers and Staff will be showing off 4-H pride by wearing green to work!

“As a 10 year member of the Iowa 4-H program, National 4-H Week has always been one of my favorite weeks all year long.” said Iowa 4-H Foundation Executive Director Kris Fish Kuhlmann. “Our desire is to inspire counties across the state of Iowa and 4-H alumni throughout the nation and encourage them to borrow, grow or even change any of the activities we are doing throughout the week at the Iowa 4-H office.”

The Iowa 4-H Foundation is encouraging anyone to show off their 4-H pride and join the Iowa 4-H Foundation’s mission to turn Facebook 4-H Green for a week! The photo can be found on our Facebook page. With thousands of current and former 4-H’ers to see 4-H take over Facebook from October 6 to the 12 is a real possibility!

Research has proven that participation in 4-H has a significant positive impact on young people. Recent findings from the Tufts University 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development indicate that, when compared to their peers, young people in 4-H are:
 

• ·         Nearly 4 times more likely to contribute to their communities,
• ·         Two times more likely to pursue healthy behaviors like, and
• ·         Two times more likely to engage in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs in the out-of-school time.

Also during National 4-H Week, hundreds of thousands of youth from all around the nation will complete a single, innovative experiment on 4-H National Youth Science Day, which will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013. The 2013 National Science Experiment, 4-H Maps & Apps, will introduce youth to the importance of geographic information systems (GIS) and geographic positioning systems (GPS) as they design and map their ideal park, use mapping to solve community problems and contribute data to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) The National Map program as citizen scientists through The National Map Corps project. For more information about 4-H National Youth Science Day, click here.

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The Iowa 4-H Foundation provides the private financial resources to develop and deliver quality 4-H youth programs throughout the state of Iowa. These opportunities help young people enhance their ability to use critical thinking, leadership, communication, and social skills – tools that will give them a competitive edge in their future endeavors.

4-H, the largest youth development organization in the world, is a community of seven million young people across the globe learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. In the U.S., 4-H programs are implemented by the 109 land grant universities and the Cooperative Extension System through their 3,100 local Extension offices across the country. Overseas, 4-H programs operate throughout more than 50 countries.