Thriving Forward

Promoting healthy people and communities one family at a time.

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Understanding adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among different groups of youth (Part 4 of Series)

June 6, 2025
By Matthew R Rodriguez, Sally E Neas, Kaitlyn A Murray, Liliana Vega
IntroductionWhile any young person can potentially experience an adverse childhood experience (ACE), not all young people are as likely to be affected by them. Some groups of youth are at a disproportionately high risk. This increased exposure is shaped by systemic factors that are outside of a young person…
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From the Barn to Business School: How 4-H Shaped My Future

May 8, 2025
By Matthew R Rodriguez
 (The following article was written by 4-H youth member Lacie.)Hello! My name is Lacie. I’m 17 years old, a senior at Sutter Union High School, and proud to share that I’ll be attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa this fall to major in business. As I prepare for this exciting next chapter, I’ve…
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Expanded ACEs (Part 2 of Series)

May 8, 2025
By Kaitlyn A Murray, Liliana Vega, Matthew R Rodriguez, Sally E Neas
IntroductionThe original conception of Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, provides important context for understanding how early traumatic life events have long-term health impacts. The original conception of ACEs focused on exposure to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect along with…
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Planning Ahead: Considerations for Recruiting Parent Volunteers

April 22, 2025
By Matthew R Rodriguez
Introduction Volunteers play an important role in youth development organizations, such as the 4-H program. In fact, without caring and nurturing volunteers, we would find it very difficult to have a thriving 4-H youth development program. Volunteers are vital to our collective success in supporting our…
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Digging into Youth Development

April 21, 2025
By Matthew R Rodriguez
Healthy Soil > Healthy Plants Spring is the season where gardeners start prepping, planting, and pampering their gardens. As a gardener newbie myself, I am learning how to grow peas, long day onions, garlic, and other plants. To help me learn, I have several trusted colleagues that I can consult,…
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