4-H Camp 2021 was different!  With implementation of Covid-19 guidelines including 50% capacity, masking/facial covers, increased disinfecting, scheduling in cohorts, and other adjustments in the middle of pandemic…4-H Camp was still the positive youth development it has always been!  Kentucky 4-H Camps surveyed parent/guardians asking for their evaluation of camp after their child(ren) were home.  The questions ranged from how many years the child(ren) had attended camp to asking if the camper(s) exhibited a positive, negative, or no change in a behavior after attending 4-H Camp.  These questions were designed to further demonstrate the impact of 4-H Camp.

Marshall County had 34 campers attend camp with some being from same households.  Ten families representing 11 campers responded to the state survey.  Marshall County parent/guardians responded predominately Positive Change in their camper(s) when asked:

•    Willing to try new things. (9)

•    Enjoying the outdoors. (9)

•    Learning new activity and life skills. (9)

•    Taking care of self needs. (9)

•    Supporting others. (9)

•    Thinking before responding/acting. (8)

•    Ease of making new friends. (8)

•    Solving problems. (8)

•    Appreciating others’ opinions. (7)

•    Comprehending and following instructions. (7)

•    Empathizing with friends. (7)

•    Setting goals. (7)

•    Helping others. (7)

•    Making good decisions. (6)

The sampling above represents the data of more than 50% of the respondents indicating the change in their child(ren). Not a single parent reported Negative Change.  There were occasional No Change indicated including one parent who answered No Change for all questions but did note the positive impact on their son.  They wrote “Stepping outside his comfort zone.”

In their own words unaltered and directly taken from the survey except removal of names, Marshall County parent/guardians noted the following successes for their camper during their week at 4-H Camp…

•    My son swim skills were so much better after camp! He wasn’t a very strong swimmer at all when he went  to camp. They taught him a way to swim he could understand and he is able to do with ease out side of camp. He is so confident in the water now. He went from being nervous and not doing a lot while in the pool to doing flips and really enjoying himself. I’m really thankful to the counselors for working with him and giving him a skill enjoy he can enjoy throughout his life as well as keep him safe! He tried a variety of new things and camp and learned a lot but think learning to swim and be confident in water was definitely the big take away from camp this year. We are definitely looking forward to next year’s camp.  Just want to say thank you for all the effort that was put into camp and for keeping my kid safe. This was my sons first camp experience and it was a great. Thank you!

•    A sense of pride of independently going to the camp.  He is very excited to go next year.

•    She was able to make some new friends this year. Which is very important due to struggling with this.

•    Never give up no matter how hard it is.

•    When our daughter came home from camp she told our family how another camper became homesick and wanted to go home one night while in the cabins. She said that she knew the camper was having fun, but just going through a tough moment of sadness, so she made jokes to get the other camper's mind off of things. Our daughter said after laughing themselves to the point of tears, the other girl fell asleep happy. She ended the story by telling us how the camper thanked her the next morning for helping her through her moment of doubt. 

•    Camp has taught her how to work as a team.

•    My daughter really connected with one of the counselors/camp staff. She has talked non-stop about how funny she was and the things she taught her. She loves to go to camp every year to make new friends and all of the activities they have. My daughter’s twin brother also attended camp. He is the same way. He loves to make friends and do all of the outdoor activities. His favorites were archery and rifle.

Each of the above “in their own words” could have been individual success stories on 4-H Camp 2021.  Youth in Marshall County receive positive youth development during camp and their parent/guardians witness the impact in their child(ren) after camp.