Leslie County takes pride in promoting 4-H camp to our community. Not only do we strive to promote it to the best of our abilities, but we also spend each year doing multiple fundraisers to sponsor youth in our community. 4-H camp is important to us, because for many of our youth, it is the only opportunity for them to travel somewhere new during their summer break. By attending camp they gain multiple benefits from participating in new activities, experiencing leadership/teamwork, character building, self-esteem, decision-making skills, independence, and cleanliness.

4-H camp is a wonderful opportunity for all ages. Not only does it bring youth together throughout our county, but it also brings youth together across multiple counties. The interactions offered at 4-H are beneficial to our youth in many ways. For most children, this is their first time staying away from their parents which brings on major responsibilities. Classes and team time are diverse, which makes it possible to reach each young person in a unique way offering a sense of belonging. Not only are relationships developed amongst other kiddos but they also gain relationships with camp staff, 4-H agents and volunteers. One my favorite parts about camp is seeing our youth become independent, watching them help others and becoming role models.

Just from my personal observation, the majority of our youth continues to come back after attending 4-H camp. It also increases their chances of doing other 4-H related activities such as Teen Conference, Summit and NRESci. Over the past 2 years I have had 3 former campers become adult volunteers. I took 2 new parent volunteers to camp this past summer who were incredibly impressed with 4-H camp and helped every step of the way. Three of our 2023 first time campers took time to submit achievement applications for the 2022-2023 program year.

This year we took 30 youth, including campers and teen leaders to JM Feltner 4-H Camp. In attendance was also 1 Extension 4-H Agent, 2 staff assistants and 4 adult volunteers. According to data USA, 34.6% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Leslie County, KY (3.52k out of 10.2k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.6%. All schools in Leslie County qualify for the national free lunch program. These statistics alone provide barriers for youth in Leslie County. It is important for us to address these challenges and do everything possible to create a safe positive experience for them to grow. As mentioned above, most families cannot afford to pay the full price to send their children to 4-H camp. Especially when they have more than one child. Leslie County 4-H continued to have great fundraising efforts and raised money throughout the year to make camp and other 4-H opportunities possible.