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 According to Carissa Akpore, the event is an opportunity for kids
who are not currently in 4-H to learn what the clubs are all about,
and have fun doing it as well as get some great prizes.
Akpore said recently the event has been planned to look something
like the “Amazing Race." There will be stations located on the
fairgrounds, near the grandstand-midway area and out by the
livestock barns. Kids will go to the station and perform a specific
task. When the task is completed, they will receive a stamp on their
passport. When all four stamps have been earned, the participants
will go to the Logan County Extension Office parking lot to check in
and show their passport.
When they check in at the extension office, they will receive a free
prize for their participation, and their name will be put into a
drawing for a larger gift. Akpore said the “grand prize” drawing
would be made up of a variety of things of things including food
coupons and ride passes to be used at the fair.
The Passport project is being done so kids who may not be aware of
what 4-H is all about can get a sampling of it. The stations will
have themes as will their tasks that relate directly to the 4 H’s,
Head - Hands - Health - Heart.
At the Head station, kids will get to play a trivia game that
illustrates thinking and learning.
At Hands, they will conduct a science experiment that shows that
doing something ‘hands-on’ can be a great learning experience as
well as a lot of fun.
When kids get to the Health station, they will have an obstacle
course they have to pass through. 4-H teaches that being active is
important to a child’s overall wellbeing, and an obstacle course
will illustrate that getting daily exercise can be fun and
challenging.
At the Heart stop, kids will make a get-well card. This will help
kids understand that they should have compassion for others. Akpore
said the cards will then be given to a local organization such as
one of the nursing homes in town.
The Logan County 4-H is sponsoring this event, but they are getting
a lot of help from two specific 4-H subgroups, the 4-H Ambassadors
and the “YES!” group.
The Ambassadors are high school age 4-H’ers.
The group does a lot of great things including fun activities and
community service projects. She spoke about one of the projects they
did this last year for community service. The kids get together and
discuss what they see as a need in the community. This year they
talked about the school breakfast and lunch program at local
schools.
Children who otherwise might not get a nutritious meal during the
day have that opportunity at school. But they became concerned about
what those same children do on the weekend. With the diversity of
families that we have today, do their parents work during weekends?
Do they have what they need in the way of food when mom, dad, or
both are at work? The Ambassadors decided they would put together
weekend snack bags to take to the local schools. The bags were then
distributed by the school, to children whom they felt could benefit
from a weekend food program. Akpore said the kids in the Ambassadors
decided on what to include in the bags. They chose items that would
need no preparation, or would be safe and easy preparation so
children didn’t have to try and cook the food.
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Akpore said when kids join 4-H, this is one group they can join if
they are age appropriate and learn more about being a
community-minded citizen. The second group “YES!” is for junior high students. Again the
group is open to any 4-H member. Akpore said this group also does
fun projects that give them social time together, teaches them new
life skills, and they do community projects as well.
She said again, the kids decide what their community service project
will be. This year they met and discussed what it would be like to
be a kid whose family couldn’t afford to celebrate their birthday.
The YES! group understood, when families are living on a limited
income, some things have to be cut out. The group then decided what
they wanted to do was create birthday bags to be given to the local
food pantry.
The bags include a cake mix, frosting, candles, and small,
inexpensive favors, enough for a small birthday party. Akpore said
this was a nice activity for the group, and they enjoyed giving a
local child a nicer birthday. Being kids themselves, the YES! group
thought of something that perhaps a lot of adults wouldn’t have.
Food pantry donations often include the essentials, vegetables and
non-perishable food, all geared toward feeding the entire family.
The YES! group, which consists of kids, felt it was only appropriate
that they targeted their community service project to benefit their
peers.
When 4-H began 100 years ago, the purpose of the club was to
introduce youngsters to innovations in the agriculture arena. Kids
studied crops and livestock, and the membership was young men. Over
the years, the membership evolved as the program began offering
projects in gardening, food preservation and home economics, and
young girls began joining as well. The membership was ultimately
farm kids in the beginning, but over the years 4-H has continued to
grow and evolve with the times. Today 4-H offers something for
everyone. Kids, whether they grew up on a farm or in the city, can
find projects and opportunities in 4-H that will help them grow into
more successful adults.
A list of available projects to be involved in today includes
everything from art to woodworking, rocketry to computer sciences,
and visual arts to communication arts and photography.
Akpore said when the kids complete their passports; they will have
gotten just a small taste of what 4-H could be for them personally,
and she is hopeful that it will entice more youngsters to become a
part of this important youth organization.
[By NILA SMITH] |
