National 4-H Week Underway

Colorado State 4-H Conference 

Southeast Area— More than 6 million young people across the country today will be celebrating National 4-H Week, which takes place annually during the first full week of October. Prowers County 4-H leverages National 4-H Week to celebrate the great things that the 4-H youth development program offers young people and highlights the incredible 4-H young people who each day work to a make a positive impact on their community.  

The annual Prowers County 4-H Achievement Banquet was held Sunday, October 6 in Lamar to close out the 2013 year as well as kick start the 2014 year.  4-H members are also out visiting schools to highlight what they have learned through 4-H programming. 

“I am anxiously looking forward to the 2014 4-H year as all the hard work that so many 4-H members and leaders put forth have laid a strong foundation for great things in the new year.  We have quite a few new events and activities added to the calendar including a Super Saturday event March 1, 2014 in Lamar as well as Cowboy Ethics activities throughout the year,” Lacey Mann said. 

Research has proven that participation in 4-H has a significant positive impact on young people. Recent findings from the Tufts University 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development indicate that, when compared to their peers, young people in 4-H are:

•          Nearly 4 times more likely to contribute to their communities,
•          Two times more likely to pursue healthy behaviors like, and
•          Two times more likely to engage in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs in the out-of-school time.  

In Prowers County, more than 200 4-H members and 37 volunteer leaders are involved in 4‑H. 

Also during National 4-H Week, hundreds of thousands of youth from all around the nation will complete a single, innovative experiment on 4-H National Youth Science Day, which will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013. The 2013 National Science Experiment, 4-H Maps & Apps, will introduce youth to the importance of geographic information systems (GIS) and geographic positioning systems (GPS) as they design and map their ideal park, use mapping to solve community problems and contribute data to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) The National Map program as citizen scientists through The National Map Corps project. For more information about 4-H National Youth Science Day, click here. 

Learn more about 4-H at www.4-H.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/4-H and Twitter at https://twitter.com/4H. 

If your child is interested in joining 4-H or you would like further information on the 4-H program, please contact your local CSU Extension Office; Baca County 719-523-6971, Bent County 719-456-0764, Cheyenne County 719-767-5716, Crowley County 719-267-5243, Kiowa County 719-438-5321, Otero County 719-254-7608, Prowers County 719-336-7734. 4-H is a cooperative effort between CSU Extension and the County. 

By Lacey Mann, CSU 4-H Extension Agent, Bent & Prowers Counties