Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Hey Collegiate 4-H'ers and Advisors--
It's time for the annual edition of the National Collegiate 4-H Newsletter!
We want to showcase what your club has done in the past year and facilitate sharing ideas and recognizing our fellow members and clubs for their work. The newsletter will be released in hard copy format at the National Collegiate 4-H Conference February 21-24 in Denver, CO, but that doesn't mean you can't participate and benefit from the newsletter if you won't be at conference. The newsletter will also be available online for viewing when it is released at conference. Help share and communicate with your fellow members.

We want to hear from ALL of YOU! Need an idea to get you started writing? Check out our suggested list below! Don't forget to e-mail us your articles by MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2008 at c4hnewsletter@gmail.com. All it takes is about 15-30 minutes to drop us a line with an update from your club.
Pictures of club activities would be great too, so include them when you e-mail your article.
As an added bonus, the first article we receive from a club gets published on the front page of the newsletter! Send in your articles TODAY, don't wait for "someone else" to take care of it, put your fingers to the keys and type away!

ARTICLE IDEA STARTERS
• Service project your club participated in
• Workshops you presented to community or 4-H groups
• Great recruiting strategies that worked well for your group
• Fun trips or events you participated in
• Shout-outs to graduating seniors
• Recognition of outstanding work of one of your club members
• Special announcements
• Jokes, comics, crossword puzzles, games, etc.
• Anything you want to share with us!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

View the video.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

On the shores of Lake Tahoe, the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Nevada Collegiate 4-H, and Nevada State 4-H Ambassadors met for a leadership experience like no other.  Below-freezing temperatures and over a foot of snow were two of the key factors that contributed to the success of the event.  During the four-day ambassador training, workshops were presented on Health Rocks, 4-H Caucus, team-building, and leadership for youth and adults alike.  The highlight of the weekend was the group snowshoeing adventure.  Lead by the Great Basin Outdoor School 4-H’ers, the group learned environmental education while working as a team.  A meandering snowshoe trek through the Tahoe National Forest set the stage for what can only be described as the coldest and most beautiful leadership activity in Nevada 4-H history. 


Nevada Collegiate 4-H members Takela Eaton, Jessica Poole, and Tommy Inglis all lead the weekend’s workshops and activities.  All three collegiate 4-Hers helped facilitate committees that produced constitutional by-laws for the Nevada Ambassador Program. Nevada Collegiate 4-H led several workshops focusing on media relations, event planning, team-building, and leadership.  Finally a draft for a future state ambassador handbook was accepted and is currently being worked on by all participants of the ambassador training.

Submited by: Tommy Inglis, University of Nevada Reno, Western Regional NAB Representative

Want to see your club featured here? Send your article to the Advocacy and Web Team by visiting the contact page.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

For the fifth consecutive year, students in the Collegiate 4-H Club in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are spreading holiday joy to American troops overseas.

As a result of the club's "Boxes of Cheer" project, dozens of boxes filled with various items donated from the community are being shipped to more than 40 designated soldiers in Iraq over the holidays. The 4-H members put drop-off boxes around the Penn State campus for students and faculty to leave shippable items, and then gathered with volunteers to form an assembly line of packaging. The purpose is to "share the
Christmas spirit with a group that is usually forgotten this time of year," said group president Bernadette Nace.

"Most of the contents are necessities that people here take for granted -- anything from books, pencils, candy and magazines to toothbrushes and even Christmas cookies," Nace said. "Some of the gifts are special as well, including letters from people in 4-H. Most people forget about the female troops, so things a female would like are especially appreciated."

"Boxes of Cheer" isn't a simple operation, Nace explained. Accomplishing the task requires a lot of administration, developing the students' organizational skills even as it provides a community service.

In addition to helping the troops, the project is rewarding to those who volunteer. Amy Filson, a junior majoring in elementary and early childhood education, said many soldiers send letters, T-shirts and other mementos as a way of saying thank-you. "Last year, one soldier wrote saying how appreciative he was for our hard work and even took a picture with his entire unit in their dress uniforms," she said. "It made it all worth it."

Troops are always grateful because they realize how difficult the process is to get the boxes over to Iraq, Nace explained. Federal confidentiality policies mean there is no central, public listing of active soldiers. Members solicit names and addresses from families, friends and other personal contacts, a time-consuming process, but Nace said it's worth it.

"We get thank-you letters all the time, with pictures and sometimes gifts in return," she said. "Once, we had a soldier send us back his Christmas list."

Penn State's Collegiate 4-H is a private, nonprofit student organization that allows members to continue their community-based 4-H activities of recreation and community service and encourages their confidence and leadership skills. More information on the chapter can be found at http://studentclubs.cas.psu.edu/Collegiate4H.html online or by contacting chapter adviser Jacklyn Bruce at (814) 863-1789.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Over thirty-five Alabama 4-H members from across the state joined together recently to get “Back to Basics, Back to Green” at Troy University in Troy, AL for the 2006 Summer Retreat.

The conference, which was hosted by Alabama Collegiate 4-H, attendees participated in a variety of leadership building activities including collegiate and professional workshops and presentations. The workshops revolved around the 4 h’s: head, heart, hands and health; and brought participant’s attention back to the basics of 4-H. Workshops on teamwork, communication, service, leadership and healthy lifestyles kept participants up and moving with fun hands-on learning activities.

Read more about the 4-H Summer Retreat

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Read more about Antoine Jefferson's pursuit of college thanks to 4-H. Jefferson was featured as the September 4-H Wow Story by National 4-H Council. The article was distributed to news sources nationwide along with featuring Jefferson on the homepage of National 4-H Council's website.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

The Collegiate 4-H Club at West Virginia University was named the National Collegiate 4-H Club of the year when 4-H representatives from colleges throughout the United States gathered in Columbus , Ohio , recently for their national conference.

Claire Brown, the WVU 4-H club president and a business management senior from Weston, accepted the national award on behalf of the 64-member WVU student organization.

During the past year, members conducted more than 55 service, leadership and social activities to benefit the WVU campus, the Morgantown community and the state.

Among them-- a WVU Collegiate 4-H Host Weekend and WVU Relay for Life.

In February 2005, 22 high school-age 4-H'ers from across West Virginia visited Morgantown to learn more about WVU. The club organized and staffed a weekend that included touring WVU facilities, questioning a panel of WVU students, attending a WVU women's basketball game and participating in WVUp All Night in the student union.

Last spring, 16 members of the club participated in continuous walking at the Relay for Life event, raising more than $15,000 in donations and pledges for the American Cancer Society.

4-H is the nation's largest youth development program, involving nearly 7 million youths, 640,000 volunteer leaders and 105 state land-grant universities.

The WVU Extension Service operates West Virginia 's 4-H program through local county offices in each of the state's 55 counties.

Brent Clark, WVU Extension agent for 4-H Youth Development in Harrison County, is the WVU Collegiate 4-H Club's adviser. He praised the club members for their outstanding contributions and for realizing this "great honor for our University and for our Extension Service."

The 4-H club members also received accolades from Dr. Larry Cote, associate provost for WVU Extension and Public Service.

"We are particularly proud of their commitment to helping younger 4-H members," Cote said. "Their dedication shows in their club's role as host to high school students during the annual WVU 4-H weekend. The members' individual commitment shines bright during the summer when they serve as volunteer camping assistants at county camps throughout the state."

4-H is described as a community of young people across America who are learning--and modeling--leadership, citizenship and life skills.

Through clubs, special interest groups, camps, after-school programs and individual learn-by-doing projects, WVU 4-H reaches about one out of every five youths in West Virginia between the ages of 9 and 19. The 56,000 youths are supported by more than 7,200 adult volunteers who serve as mentors.

For more details about WVU's county-based 4-H program opportunities, visit http://www.wvu.edu/~exten/ For more information about the WVU Collegiate 4-H Club, check out http://www.wvu.edu/~wvu4h/

This article was written by Ann Bailey Berry of the West Virginia University News and Information Services. The news release may be read at http://www.nis.wvu.edu/2006/4h_club_honor.htm