Clover Kids Involvement in the 4-H Program

There seems to be some confusion regarding Clover Kids and their involvement in the Texas 4-H Program. It is critically important from a safety standpoint that we do not ignore the guidelines outlined in the 4-H Management Guide. Specific items to highlight from the guide are below:

- The 4-H program serves youth 9 years of age (or 8 years of age and in the 3rd grade) to 19.

- As an affiliated group, youth enrolled as 4-H Clover Kids have activities and programs suitable for their age group. Clover Kids are not eligible to participate in activities, recognition programs, and competitive events reserved for older youth. Competitive events and competitive judging are inappropriate for Clover Kids.

- Clover Kids may have animal projects; however, animal projects should not exceed a rabbit in size. Most standard 4-H accident insurance normally is not available for youth under 6 years of age or those 6 to 8 years old with animal projects larger than rabbits in size.

Please work with your club managers and club leaders regarding this matter. Also, inform your coworkers of these guidelines. We need to consistently communicate the guidelines outlined in the 4-H Management Guide.

If you have questions or need to discuss this matter further, please let me know.

National Volunteer Week April 19-25 - Celebrating People in Action

National Volunteer Week-Celebrating People in Action, is scheduled for April 19-25, 2009. This week presents an opportunity for us to celebrate the ordinary people who accomplish extraordinary things through service. Established in 1974 by President Richard Nixon, the week continues to gain recognition with numerous governors, mayors, and elected officials. The theme, Celebrating People in Action, guides the celebrations to take place during this signature week-honoring the people who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities.

A National Volunteer Week Guide, provided by the Points of Light Institute and HandsOn Network, has been provided by Courtney Dodd and Landry Lockett for County Extension Agents to utilize. In the resource guide, County Extension Agents will find all of the essential messages and resources to effectively encourage and acknowledge volunteer participation, inspiration and recognition during National Volunteer Week 2009. Within the toolbox, Agents will finde project ideas and volunteer leader resources, ideas and solutions for recognizing their volunteers, logos, media outreach tips, sample news release and a sample proclamation.

One significant national celebration that falls during National Volunteer Week is Global Youth Service Day, the weekend of April 24-26. This is an annual international event that highlights and celebrates the ongoing contributions of youth to their communities to recognize young volunteers who are leading the next generation in service.

District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors should encourage County Extension Agents to recognize their adult and youth volunteers who contribute their time and talents in support of Extension programs in their counties. County Extension Agents are encouraged to do the following;

1. Get their community involved. Agents should provide opportunities for members of their community to participate in projects. Agents should engage volunteers and inspire other by example.
2. Agents should connect with other organizations and share inspirational stories about volunteers and the positive impact they make on others and the community. This is an excellent opportunity to share the number of volunteers involved in their county program, the hours they contribute, and the value of their volunteer time. The Independent Sector just released the new value of volunteer time, which is $20.25 per hour. County reports from the 2008 Volunteer Survey are accessible and have been updated with the new volunteer value of time. The site to access county reports is : http://shasta.tamu.edu/volunteerreport. When Agents report to stakeholders to contributions made by volunteers, it is also recommended to share a description of the people impacted by the projects and the outcomes.
3. Recognize and thank volunteers. Volunteer recognition is an extremely effective retention and recruitment tool. It should be remembered that it is more difficult to retain volunteers than to recruit them!
   

The above content was taken from a letter developed by Courtney Dodd and Dr. Landry Lockett with Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

4-H Filing for IRS

Questions have recently come up regarding IRS filing for 4-H clubs and groups. Below are a few details regarding the process as we currently know it:

1. All 4-H clubs and groups with EIN's will need to file (or attempt to) by May 15. This includes not only your clubs, but also groups like councils and adult leaders. For each EIN on file in your county, there must be an individual filing with the IRS.

2. Those with 2008 gross receipts* less than $25,000 can file a 990-n (e-Postcard) online. (Print and follow the Step by step Quick Start Guide: http://epostcard.form990.org/Files/ePostcardQuickStartGuide.pdf )

3. Those with 2008 gross receipts* in excess of $25,000 must file a 990 or 990-EZ ( http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f990ez.pdf )

4. When filing online, print out any status notifications when you have gone as far as the system will allow you to go.

If you encounter any errors or problems with filing online, print out the message and maintain in a permanent file. This will serve as proof of the attempt to file. Due to the IRS' readiness status with the national 4-H program, most will likely receive an error message stating: "Error: The employer identification number (EIN) XX-XXXXX you entered was not found in the IRS list of organizations eligible to file the e-Postcard........"


* Gross receipts are the total amounts the organization received from all sources during its annual accounting period, without subtracting any costs or expenses. ( www.irs.gov )

Texas 4-H Food Challenge

The Texas 4-H and Youth Development Program is pleased to announce that the Texas 4-H Food Challenge will be an official contest at Texas 4-H Roundup in 2010. Modeled after such competitions as the Food Network's Iron Chef, the 4-H Food Challenge allows teams of 4-H members to create a dish using a predetermined amount of ingredients. From these ingredients, 4-H members must identify, prepare and then present information related to the serving size, nutritional value, and cost of the dish. Throughout this energized process, the 4-H members are demonstrating their culinary and food safety skills to judges and on-lookers.

The 4-H Food Challenge was created by Sarah Womble in Victoria County, District 11, and has been implemented in other counties and districts as a hands-on learning experience and/or contest to support the 4-H Foods and Nutrition Project. Since its creation, over 1,000 youth have participated in a 4-H Food Challenge experience.

The 4-H Food Challenge will be offered to youth as a Thursday Contest during 4-H Roundup 2010. All pre-existing contests that support the 4-H Food and Nutrition Project will continue to be conducted and offered to 4-H members. No contest is being phased out.

The objectives of the 4-H Food Challenge include:

- Provide an opportunity for each participant to exhibit their knowledge and skills when preparing and presenting a dish.

- Provide an opportunity for each participant to learn from other team members and to promote teamwork.

- Empower youth to participate in a public speaking role.

- Provide leadership opportunities for youth.

- Give 4-H members the opportunity to participate in a new, exciting 4-H experience.

A web page, accessible via the Texas 4-H Program website, has been developed for agents and clientele to access resources for the 4-H Food Challenge. The direct link to the site is: http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/projects/foodchallenge.html. Resources posted online include:

- 4-H Food Challenge Manual (including participant rules, supply box list, rules of play, scorecard and team worksheet). The manual may be downloaded separately, according to the contest resource you are needing or as a booklet. Please note: Participant Rules for the county and district level contests are being provided for counties and districts to use when implementing the contest. These rules coincide with the state contest rules, so that there is consistency among the levels of competition.
- Agent Resources. These include an orientation for participants and judges, tips for selecting and preparing recipes, team ranking form, and help needs list.
- Educational Resources. Links are provided to the educational resources that should be used by 4-H members in preparing for the contest.

Training for agents related to the 4-H Food Challenge is currently being coordinated with 4-H and FCS Regional Program Directors.

A special thank you to Sarah Womble, Rusty Hohlt, Jodi McManus, Julie Gardner, Paula Butler and Laura Huebinger for serving in a leadership role for this new opportunity and their work in developing the contest resources.

Please let me know if you have any questions related to the 4-H Food Challenge.

JMG Offering Two Teacher Trainings

The JMG Program is offering two opportunities for teachers to get CEU's and extensive training in environmental science that can be used in the classroom.

These training programs will be offered at the Texas 4-H Conference Center this summer.  JMG has lined up a wonderful set of scientists, Extension educators and volunteers to lead the educational sessions.  The academies that will be offered include:

June 1-3 Operation WATER Academy - focuses on water and the earth resources and includes water sampling / collection on Lake Brownwood, rainwater harvesting, watersheds, and wetlands habitat.

June 23 - 25 Summer Academy - focuses on gardening, earth kind landscaping, entomology, water tests / sampling on Lake Brownwood, GIS in the classroom, soil activities, and rain water harvesting.

Both of these programs not only enhance teacher's core science competencies, but introduces them to some of the great 4-H curricula that is available to support them in the classroom.  If you are currently working with classroom teachers, this would be a wonderful opportunity for them to receive excellent training at a very affordable price.

Registration, program agenda for each academy, and other details can be found at the link below:

www.jmgkids.us.texas

For more information, please contact: 

Lisa Whittlesey

l-whittlesey@tamu.edu

What is Youth Development

Last month, I said I would write a brief article defining youth development and what it means to us in the Texas 4-H & Youth Development Program. A lot has happened over the last month that certainly validates the importance of this term. I was recently in a meeting with “youth development” professionals and was asked specifically, “what does youth development mean to Texas 4-H?”

As you would expect, I talked about the forty developmental assets, ages and stages of youth, and general youth program development methodology. I then drilled down and talked more specifically about 4-H and the projects and programs that we provide to the youth of Texas. These answers more than satisfied the others in the meeting, but I did not feel like I answered the question as thoroughly as I could have. So, I went home and really pondered the term “youth development” and what it truly means.

Author side note: Before I explain what youth development means to me, one thing that I want us all to keep in mind is that the term “youth development” is in every one of our job descriptions. If we work with youth through the Texas 4-H Program, youth development is purposely tied to our work. So, this is something that touches all of us.

As you might expect, there are many definitions of youth development. Some are short and to the point, while others are long and deeply entrenched in theory. One that I like is “youth development is the process of growing up and developing one’s capacities in positive ways” (Walker & Dunham, 1994). I think most, if not all, of us could agree with this definition. My favorite piece of the definition is the emphasis on positive. I think it is critical for us as youth development professionals to take a positivistic approach when working with youth. This also follows the leadership models of building on success and personal strengths (which I firmly believe).

For this topic, I also thought it was important to define the term “pedagogy.” Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching and education with an emphasis on youth audiences. For the Texas 4-H & Youth Development Program, pedagogy and youth development go hand in hand. We are a youth development organization and our treatment is youth education (pedagogy).

So, what does all of this mean? To me, it means we need to continue to be LEADERS in youth development and pedagogy. We need to think more about the “art” of pedagogy and build it into our youth development model. Instead of just focusing on the outcomes of programs, we should also be focusing on what will engage youth. For positive, long term youth development impact, our programs should:

• Capturing a youth’s imagination – There are many competitors in today’s youth development market place. From Little League to video games, youth can decide where they want to spend their time. This decision is most often times based on what “captures” them and how it sparks their imagination. We need to be more competitive in this market place. This can be accomplished by ensuring that the programs we offer are active, hands-on, and meaningful. As we move forward, this is critical to our (4-H) success.
• Stimulate a youth’s interest – Once we have them in our program, how do we stimulate their interests? It is very natural for youth to become entrenched in the subject matter that is of interest to them. We need to keep this in mind and ensure that we have levels (or tiers) of programs that address their interests. We cannot become complacent in what we offer through our programs. It is imperative that we (as youth development professionals) grow youth.
• Provide youth opportunities to grow – We cannot be satisfied with the status quo. As youth development professionals, it is imperative that we use creative, innovative strategies to provide new opportunities for youth within their program interest area. Examples of this could be new celebration events, new community service projects, or youth in a teaching role with other youth.

I realize that none of these are quick fixes. There is no magic wand we can wave over Texas 4-H to be more effective youth development professionals. These are the ongoing issues we face every day in our profession. As we embrace our role as “youth development professionals,” these are the items we should be talking about and sharing with others. So, think about what “youth development” means to you and make every attempt to apply it in the youth programs you lead. The youth of Texas are depending on us………TO MAKE THE BEST BETTER!

Reference
Walker, J., & Dunham, T. (1994). Understanding youth development work. Center for 4-H Youth Development, College of Education: Minnesota Extension Service.