Author: Aubrey Lawson
Major Program: Civic Engagement
The high-school students in the Madison County 4-H Teen Council put together 55 Fall Family Kits to be distributed to families in the community. These kits included art activities, recipes and ingredients and educational information on fall themed topics including pumpkins and apples. These teens felt there was a need in the community for fall family activities due to COVID-19 and the traditional community events being cancelled. The teens brainstormed the ideas for the kits, assisted with adver
Author: Kimberly Ragland
In 2021, Mental Health America ranked Kentucky 19th among the 50 states in prevalence of mental illness and access to care. Measured during the pandemic, 46,000 (13.6%) Kentucky youth ages 12-17 reported suffering at least one major depressive episode in the past year. Of those, 31,000 teens (9.6%) reported severe major depression, often co-occurring with substance abuse, anxiety, and disorderly behavior.According to the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of
Author: Carrie Derossett
4-H aims to engage youth through hands-on experiences in order to build life skills. The 4-H It’s Your Reality (Reality Store) Curriculum focuses on engaging teens in real life budgeting scenarios. Each student is given an occupation with a salary, determine if they have a spouse, their spouse’s career, and how many children they have. In the orientation, they learn about the importance of taxes and how to deduct those from their household income. Students then have the
Author: Dora Centers
Pre-COVID we had momentum behind our county teen programming, regaining that has been a focus this past year. 53 Teens in our community service and leadership club served as at our 4-H countywide “It’s Your Reality” for our 8th graders. They dressed their parts and made the day memorable for the other youth. They volunteered for a second, “It’s Your Reality” day for our high school freshman who had missed the experience due to the pandemic during t
Author: Charles Stamper
UK-CARESCitizen Science ProjectSummary Report Project Title: Breathitt County 4-H Youth Development Citizen Science Project: Our Riverways are Important Site Coordinator: Ryan Spicer, MS, Extension Agent for 4-H Youth DevelopmentBreathitt County Project Faculty Research Advisor: Charles E. Stamper, Ed.D., Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth DevelopmentCollaborators: UK College of Nursing & Public Health Goal: Teach the process of citizen science to youth in Appalachia. Test a
Author: Adam Barnes
According to Forbes magazine, 83% of adults do not have a basic understanding of the American Revolution. NBC News states that 1 in 4 people do not know we fought in the war for independence. Therefore, it is important to provide hands on educational programs to our youth to help them have a better understanding of how this great Republic was formed. Spring Muster is a program held every spring at West Kentucky 4-H Camp for youth in 6th through 12th grade. The goal of this program is to immerse
Author: Leslea Barnes
Author: Hollyn Howard
Youth understanding of local government, news, and history can allow them to be better equipped when taking on adult responsibility and the workforce. This program was designed to allow youth participants to be better connected to their local civics through visiting local government building, new/radio, historical landmark, their first responders, and local politicians. The Nelson County 4-H Agent partnered with local entities to schedule and prepare tours. The entities prepared 30 minute t
A Diverse History SuccessIn 2018 Livingston County ANR and Crittenden County 4-H collaborated on an idea for a new 4-H shooting club. This club would be called the Early American Heritage Project. This program combines a comprehensive study of American history from the period 1754 to 1815 and consist of major components such as, but not limited to, 4-H Shooting Sports (i.e., Black powder), Leadership Development, Living History (Civics), Foods, Community Engagement and Agriculture &a
Research not only shows that early civic engagement is mutually beneficial to both the youth and the communities in which they serve, but early civic engagement is associated with positive health outcomes later in life (Brennan Center for Justice, 2022). The Madison County 4-H program strives to incorporate an understanding and practice of generosity, one of the four essential elements of youth development, into clubs and programs from all of the 4-H Core Content areas. This important aspect of
Author: Michael Rose
This year is a county-wide election year and learning the voting process is part of the fifth grade Social Studies curriculum. We wanted to take advantage of that and build on the knowledge of the students by coordinating a hands-on experience for them. Adair County Cooperative Extension Service collaborated with the Adair County School system and the Adair County Clerk, Lisa Greer to hold a mock election for the fifth Graders of Adair County. Lisa explained the election process and what h
Author: Logan Sasser
Following up on my success story from this past October, due to COVID restrictions, getting into the schools and getting the word out about the introduction of this shooting sports program has proven to be somewhat difficult. However, the Shooting Sports leader and I had the belief that if we were able to get the school system to promote this program, along with local government officials, we would have a great opportunity for success. I am extremely happy to report that we have had our initial
Author: Cathy Toole
The Year 2022 is looking brighter for many 4-H youth across Henry County. Youth are ready to return to 4-H Clubs and begin projects that have been pushed to the side for the last year and half. Twelve of the 4-H Clubs have started meeting in person again while social distancing and using creative ways to work within the safety guidelines outlined by the University of Kentucky. Next month 3 more clubs will take the plunge into meeting face to face and providing youth with much n
Author: Paula Jerrell
An awesome effort began with an idea for a benefit tractor pull hosted by the Ballard County Fair Board and then an FFA and 4-H Alum suggesting Ballard County 4-H and Ballard Memorial FFA ban together to help two teens facing cancer in our community. Emily Dulworth was diagnosed with with Medulloblastoma which is brain cancer in September 2020. Hudson Pace was diagnosed with Leukemia in February 2021. The Kids Helping Kids group came together in April of 2021 and after meeting together cam
