April 30, 2010
When a referendum in small Florence County, Wisc., nearly closed the county’s public schools, youth in Engaging Youth Serving Community (a community grant program through NIFA and National 4-H Council) decided to show the town the value of their community service, which is conducted through the local high school.
 Engaging Youth Serving Communities (EYSC) youth stepped up in their community to make positive changes through volunteerism. Under the leadership of the University of Wisconsin Extension, the EYSC team began a four year program that encouraged young people to step in and step up whenever they were needed in their schools and communities. And they did in a big way.
The youth Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) gave a $5,000 grant to the high school’s Building Trades class in support of the youth’s exterior work on the homes of elderly, low-income or disabled homeowners. Their repairs even included building ramps to improve accessibility for residents. They later followed up on their ramp-building skills by building a fishing pier at a local lake and making playground improvements at a county park.
After school, a student-to-student tutoring program was launched by the youth in collaboration with the local elementary school. High school students also hosted an outdoor adventure for the middle school students, and led a food, fun and fitness activity for people of all ages, from youth to the elderly.
Other youth participated in the “Bobcats Making a Difference” campaign. Students volunteered their time in yard work or other outdoor services requested by county residents. A grant from the Dickinson Area Community Foundation provided “Bobcats Making a Difference” t-shirts to where while they were hard at work.
They also joined FACT (Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco) to lobby the state legislature and testify at public hearings against public smoking in their town, painted murals as part of their beautification project with messages of peace in remembrance of students who were killed, and assisted with a county reforestation project by pruning and sorting 150,000 trees.
“Five years ago, if we asked, they would do something like come to the community center and sing, but this was their doing,” said one community member of the youth’s work. “Independently thinking and doing from the heart.”
The group has grown from a seven teens to over 60 who feel empowered to help their community in any way they can. They are living out the 4-H Pledge and made the positive changes in their community they dreamed of.
The Engaging Youth Serving Community program is funded under Rural Youth Development Grant Award #2008-45201-04715 under the USDA.
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April 29, 2010
 Samantha Jo Riddley accepts the Youth Action Award at the 4-H Legacy Awards Gala. |
 Former US Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman (left) recieves the Abraham Lincoln Vision wa |
National 4-H Council hosted the first Annual Legacy Awards Gala April 22, honoring extraordinary individuals and corporations that have made a lasting impact through work in 4-H. And Youth Action Awardwinner Samantha Jo Riddley is just one of those people.
Samantha joined North Dakota 4-H in 2006, and became involved in the archery program. As a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, she brought the Native American tradition back to her community, where it has promoted teamwork and respect.
The high school senior, whose Lakota name is Oyate Wiyanka Pe Win, credits the values and skills that she has learned through 4-H with helping her overcome several challenging obstacles, including illness and poverty. Samantha accepted her award in full Native American dress, and announced that she will take on the next challenge this fall: She will be the first in her family to attend college, and will study medicine at Dartmouth. She hopes to again return to her tribe with the knowledge of medicine to improve the lives of the people in her community.
Former United States Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman and JCPenney were also honored at the Gala, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC. Glickman received the Abraham Lincoln Vision Award for a life-longcommitment to youth advocacy. Glickman, current president of Refugees International and former Chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc., began his career in public service as School Board president and has served as Kansas Congressman and eventually the Secretary of Agriculture. Glickman is a member of National 4-H Council’s Board of Trustees.
JCPenney’s strategic partnership with 4-H on 4-H Afterschool programming has impacted millions of youth across the nation for more than 50 years, providing a safe place to learn and grow. Because of their support, Chairman of the Board and CEO Myron E. (Mike) Ullman III accepted the 4-H Corporate Leadership Award
It was an exciting evening hosted by Virginia 4-H alumna Nancy Redd, and filled with tributes to the honorees, a keynote address by National 4-H Council president and CEO, Donald T. Floyd Jr., and a celebration of 108 years of preparing young people to step up to challenges and take the lead in their communities and their world.
 National 4-H Council President and CEO Don Floyd Jr. with (from left): JCPenney Chairman of the Board and CEO Myron E. (Mike) Ullman III, recipient of the Corporate Leadership Award; Samantha Jo Riddley, recipient of the Youth in Action Award; Dan Glickman, recipient of the Abraham Lincoln Award; and James Borel, DuPont executive vice president and Chair of the National 4-H Council Board of Trustees. |
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April 20, 2010
 The Apple Pi 4-H Robotics team of Guilford, Conn., poses with its robot. Like many youth involved in FIRST, Julian Capriles (third from left) plans to enter the engineering field. 4-H robotics teams had stellar performances in robotics tournaments across the country this year. In addition to the many teams who placed well in state and regional competitions, nine 4-H teams competed in the national FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship in Atlanta, and a Minnesota 4-H Robotics team was invited to compete in international competition in Turkey.
Over 300 robotics teams from across the United States and six countries met on the floor of the Georgia Dome April 15-17 for the FIRST Robotics Championship, where engineering and sports come together with a bit of imagination.
“Over the past few days in Atlanta, we have had the opportunity to inspire the next generation of innovators and engineers,” said Dean Kamen, inventor and FIRST Founder in a prepared statement.
“This is increasingly important as we try to build momentum in the U.S. to fuel a robust talent pipeline of innovative 21st century STEM professionals. For the thousands of young problem-solvers who participated in the FIRST Championship, we caught a glimpse of the great things that are in store when these students tackle greater challenges in years ahead.”
Julian Capriles of the 4-H Apple Pi team from Guilford, Conn., is one of those young problem-solvers who plans to pursue a career in engineering.
“I want to be a mechanical engineer,” said Capriles. “I like to work with other people on other projects that I have to work on, and do things as a group, and learn about the mechanics of things and the engineering and programming and working as a team and getting everything done in a timeframe.”
4-H teams were leaders in the two-day competition. AIR Strike, the competitive team of the
 AIR Strike Robotics (far right) looks on as the team directs its robot during a match. Aquidneck Island Robotics 4‐H Club, was ranked second in its division at the end of regular rounds, and made it to the second round in the tournament to finish in the semifinals.
This year, Exploding Bacon of Winter Park, Fla., placed first in the North Carolina Regional and won the Imagery Award and Regional Chairman’s Award. At the FIRST Robotics Championship, it was selected to join two other teams in an alliance for the tournament rounds, and finished in the first quarterfinal round.
Team EMS of Windermere, Fla. was seeded 35th out of 85 other teams headed into its division qualifier. The other 4-H teams in Atlanta were:
- Prototype X of Salt Lake City, Utah
- Camdenton 4-H Laser of Camdenton, Mo.
- Flaming Monkeys of Belvidere, Ill.
- Team Paradox of Encinitas, Calif.
While the FIRST Robotics teams were in Atlanta, “The Things,” a 4-H FIRST Lego League team was preparing for another competition. The team of middle school youth from Elk River, Minn., received the Champions award at the Minnesota First Lego Robotics State Championship in January. The win earned them an invitation to the FIRST Lego League Open European Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, to compete against teams from 60 other countries.
As the team arrived in New York on the way to Istanbul, they learned that the volcano eruption in Iceland disrupted air travel to and from Europe, and made it impossible to travel to the event. Because many other competitors were unable to make it as well, the competition was rescheduled for June 2-5.
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April 15, 2010
On 4-H National Youth Science Day, October 6, 2010, hundreds of thousands of youth nation-wide will engage in a hands-on lesson in water quality and climate change - two very important issues facing our global community.
Designed by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (A&T), the 2010 National Science Experiment, 4-H2O, will use a three-tiered experiment model to engage youth of all ages to learn at the simplest level how carbon dioxide can affect aquatic animals, plants and other living organisms in lakes, streams, rivers and oceans.
“Now entering its third year, 4-H National Youth Science Day will again bring young people face-to-face with a large and complex global issue affecting our society,” said Donald T. Floyd, Jr., National 4-H Council president and CEO. “Involving youth early in fun and exciting scientific exploration is paramount to encouraging their future interest in science and science careers. As the nation’s next generation of leaders, it is imperative that we encourage today’s young people to think about global issues today, in order to engage them in developing the solutions of tomorrow.”
4-H2O features a series of interactive activities and discussions to demonstrate the importance of water quality and its relevance to climate change. Using typical chemistry tools, worksheets, online guides and Web-based demonstrations, the experiment will help youth learn and then connect back to their own lives by encouraging the measurement of their own personal impact on the environment, along with the impact of their families.
“We hope this experiment will help young people understand their environmental relationship to their communities and to the world, and at the same time help create the next generation of new scientists to keep our country globally competitive,” said Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, administrator of A&T’s Cooperative Extension Program that developed the National Science Experiment. “At the end of the day, this experiment may inspire young people to continue their interest in science throughout their secondary education, into college and on into career opportunities.”
4-H National Youth Science Day was created as part of 4-H’s One Million New Scientists, One Million New IdeasTM campaign. It is designed to spark an early youth interest in science education in order to combat a national shortage of young people pursuing science in college and future careers.
This year’s 4-H National Youth Science Day has been jointly sponsored by John Deere, IBM and Toyota.
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April 13, 2010
 The 4-H G-FORCE Team at the 2009 FIRST Championship. Nine 4-H Robotics teams from across the country have been selected to compete in the national FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Championship in Atlanta. Nearly 450 teams were invited to compete in the event, which takes place at the Georgia Dome April 15-17.
The event is the culmination of the robotics season, and consists of several competitive rounds in three categories: LEGO League World Festival, Robotics Competition Championship and Tech Challenge World Championship.
At the 2009 FIRST Robotics Championship, National 4-H Council and FIRST Robotics announced a partnership to further a shared pursuit of reaching American young people with more opportunities to explore science, engineering and technology (SET) careers through hands-on, team-based experiences in the design, building and programming of robots. Last year, five 4-H teams participated in the Championship competition, and the 4-H G-FORCE Robotics team took second place in the Tech Challenge World Championship.
G-FORCE returns this year, along with:
• Exploding Bacon - Winter Park, Fla.
• Aquidneck Island Robotics 4-H Club - Newport County, R.I.
• Flaming Monkeys - Belvidere, Ill.
• Team EMS - Windermere, Fla.
• Apple Pi - Guilford, Conn.
• Prototype X - Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Camdenton 4H LASER Team - Camdenton, Mo.
• Team Paradox - Encinitas, Calif.
“In one year since our partnership with FIRST Robotics, 43 competitive robotics teams have been established throughout 4-H. There could be no greater first-year marker than to have nine of our 4-H teams make it to the national championship level,” said Donald T. Floyd, Jr., President and CEO, National 4 H Council. “The joint work of National 4-H Council and FIRST demonstrates the amazing things youth achieve when given the opportunity to step up and pursue their interest in science, engineering and technology.”
This fall, National 4-H Council will launch the first comprehensive Robotics curriculum for youth in grades 4 to 12, titled Robotics: Engineering for Today and Tomorrow. Developed in partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the curriculum will focus on physical science concepts related to robotics, engineering design processes and the exploration of possible careers in the field.
Building on the growing interest in robotics, Maryland has been selected as the pilot state for developing and testing further expansion of the 4-H Robotics program and plans to establish additional 4-H Robotics clubs in all of the state’s 24 counties, including the city of Baltimore. The experience in everything from training volunteers to guiding youth projects and coordinating participation in top robotics events and competitions will help make the establishment of a new 4-H Robotics club a turn-key operation for all.
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April 2, 2010
National 4-H Council kicks off the 4-H Give2Vote Challenge April 1. Give2Vote is a month-long fundraising campaign to benefit state 4-H programs through mobile and online donations.
“New mobile technologies have allowed us to break exciting new ground and offer an easy way for people to support the 4-H movement,” said Donald T. Floyd, Jr, president and CEO of National 4-H Council. “Donations received via text provide an innovative new stream of funding to 4-H programs, creating even more opportunities for youth.”
By participating in mobile donations, funds go to support the state 4-H program that matches the donor’s area code when texting CLOVER to 50555. Each text gives $10 to the program. Online donations at 4‑H.org can also be sent to specific states, and the state that receives the most donations by text or online at will receive a bonus of $5,000, sponsored by JCPenney.
Participating wireless carriers include AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and Nextel. A one-time donation of $10 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. You will also receive up to one message per day from National 4-H Council Alerts. Message and Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of National 4-H Council by the mGive Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.mGive.com/A. To unsubscribe text STOP to 50555, for help text HELP to 50555. Privacy policy available at http://mgive.com/PrivacyPolicy.aspx
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