JEFFERSON CO., N.Y. — National 4-H Week is October 1, 2017 – October 7, 2018. For the 75th consecutive year, millions of youth, parents, volunteers and alumni across the country will celebrate National 4-H Week during the first full week of October. Jefferson County 4-H will leverage National 4-H Week this year by showcasing the incredible experiences that 4-H offers young people, and will highlight the remarkable 4-H youth in our community who work each day to make a positive impact on those around them. Stephanie Graf, Youth, Family and Community Development Program Leader shares, “4-H is a valuable experience for youth. 4-H gives youth the opportunity to experience fun educational programs and at the same time participate in community service projects that give back to those around them.”
In Jefferson County 4-H is offering a variety of programming to celebrate National 4-H week: Monday is Hats off to 4-H from 6-7pm – families can gather information about the 4-H program and enroll their child(ren) for free. There will be activities for youth available. Tuesday is 4-H Teen Council which is open to all youth ages 13 – 17 from 6-7:30pm. This is a great opportunity to learn leadership skills, participate in community service projects and take a few trips. Wednesday is 4-H National Youth Science Day for youth in grades 4th – 8th to design/build a wearable fitness tracker from 5:30-7pm. Thursday is 4-H Drone De-Coders from 6:30-7:30pm. Friday is 4-H Friday where youth ages 6-16 are welcome to experiment with an engineering challenge, learn more about the 4-H Dog program and participate in a messy science experiment. Saturday is a Cache in, Trash Out event at the Otter Creek Preserve from 1-3pm. All of the events are held at the 4-H Extension office at 203 North Hamilton Street Watertown, NY. All events are free. All events require prior registration by calling 315-788-8450.
4-H alumni around the country are always the first to acknowledge the significant positive impact 4-H had on them as young people; the opportunities and experiences that 4-H provides youth empowers them to become true leaders. In fact, research has shown that young people in 4-H are almost four times as likely to contribute to their communities, and are twice as likely to engage in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs in their free time.
In Jefferson County, more than 2,000 youth and 25 volunteers from the community are involved in 4-H. One of the most anticipated events of National 4-H Week every year is 4-H National Youth Science Day, which sees hundreds of thousands of youth across the nation taking part in the world’s largest youth led science challenge. The exciting theme for this year’s challenge is Incredible Wearables. On Wednesday, October 4, youth will use the engineering design process to build a prototype wearable technology that will gather data to help solve a real-world problem. Wearable technologies are now used in industries around the globe, from education and sport, to health, fashion, entertainment, transportation and communication. To learn more about National Youth Science Day, please visit http://www.4-h.org/nysd/. Three of the 4-H after school programs will bully participate in the 4-H National Youth Science Day – Belleville Henderson Central School District, Copenhagen Central School District and Wiley Intermediate School at Watertown City School District.
4-H, the nation’s largest youth development and empowerment organization, cultivates confident youth who tackle the issues that matter most in their communities right now. In the United States, 4-H programs empower six million young people through the 110 land-grant Universities and Cooperative Extension in more than 3,000 local offices serving every county and parish in the country. Outside the United States, independent, country-led 4-H organizations empower one million young people in more than 50 countries. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non- profit partner of the Cooperative Extension System and 4-H National Headquarters located at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Learn more about the Jefferson County 4-H program on Facebook and at ccejefferson.org.
–CCE Jefferson County
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