San Francisco Bay Area youth celebrate October's national 4H month ...

Have you seen 4H lately?

October is National 4-H Month, and Alameda County would like to invite you to come see what America's # 1 youth group is all about. The fundamental 4-H ideal of practical, “learn by doing” experiences encourage youth to experiment, innovate and think independently.

4-H programs are offered through school-based, after-school and camp settings and within community clubs. 4-H youth across the nation are leading efforts to solve problems in their communities and make a difference for their futures. Along with strong focus on leadership skills and community awareness, individual 4H clubs offer projects for the kids to participate in and at the end of the 4H season, they participate in their county fair.

4H Projects may include but aren't limited to:

• Beginning 4H
• Cooking
• Cake Decorating
• Community Service
• Dog Showing
• Wildlife Project
• Dairy Goat
• Dirt Biking
• Shooting
• Sheep
• Swine
• Vet Science
• Woodworking
• Sewing
• Scrapbooking
• Photography
• Rabbit
• Poultry
• Cavy (Guinea Pig)
• Horse

This list is merely an example of what the 4H club can offer Bay Area youth ages 6-18. The projects are only limited by the leaders within each club.

What is 4H?

4-H is a community of six million young people across America learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of National 4-H Headquarters (USDA). The 4-H programs are implemented by the 106 Land Grant Universities and the Cooperative Extension System through their 3,100 local Extension offices across the country.

The 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, a longitudinal study conducted by the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University, shows youth engaged with 4-H are:

• Nearly two times more likely to get better grades in school;
• Nearly two times more likely to plan to go to college;
• 41 percent less likely to engage in risky behaviors
• 25 percent more likely to positively contribute to their families and communities.

If you'd like to get more information about the 4H Club, please contact your county's cooperative extension office. If you're in the Pleasanton/Danville/San Ramon area and would like to visit a Tassajara Valley 4H community meeting, please call Laura Vaughn at (925) 683-3114.

For more information on the 4H Youth program visit 4-h.org.

For more of Chris' gardening articles go to Vegetable Gardener.com or visit her website at A Suburban Farmer.com. Chris' book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting is now in bookstores and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Heirloom Vegetables will be available in December 2010.

via google.com

4 H Club Gift is a good luck gift ideafor anyone that is involve in the 4 H Club of America,