- Author: Maura Sparrevohn
Hello, my name is Maura Sparrevohn, and I was a California 4-H State Ambassador for the 2018-2019 program year. This last April, I was selected to attend the National 4-H Conference in Washington D.C. If it wasn't for the scholarship from Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation, I might never have been able to attend this conference, or connect with 4-H youth from outside of California. As someone who had never before been outside of California's borders, having the opportunity to experience a whole new place—brimming with people I never would have met otherwise—was an amazing experience.
National 4-H Conference: Roundtable on Adolescent Mental Health
During this near week-long conference, I had the opportunity to collaborate with 4-H youth from across the country on a roundtable group focusing on the mental health of adolescence in the United States. We were then able to present to the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) under the National Organization for Health and Human Services. Through this presentation, our team of diverse youth was able to voice our own concerns regarding the state of mental health in our peers. We were also able to provide the OAH with our own suggestions to combat the issue of stigma surrounding mental illness among American youth.
Invited to Collaborate on Social Media and Mental Health
Early this summer, and because of my involvement with the HHS, I was invited back to D.C., where I shared my perspective on how social media affects the mental health of my peers. I was one of 6 youth respondents selected from the U.S. to participate in this meeting organized by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs.
Through this once in a lifetime opportunity, I collaborated alongside Candice Odgers and Jean Twenge, both top researchers in their respective fields of psychology, to compare their findings to my own experiences with social media usage and how it relates to my own mental health as well as that of other youth who use social media. I was able to share my perspective on how the state of your mental health can be reflected through your personal social media usage. By practicing intentional social media usage and mindful habits, you can make positive impacts on yourself and others while connecting to your individuality. I also see it as a creative outlet that can connect individuals and provide all sorts of resources to provide connectedness, education, and opportunities to promote positive change for anything you may be passionate about.
Co-hosting a live Twitter Chat
Following my engagement in this meeting, the group of youth was asked to collaborate even further to propose a way to share what we had learned with others in our communities. We decided that the best way to share our knowledge of intentional social media use was taking to social media in a live and interactive way. On August 14th, we partnered with #ICanHelp and youth.gov to host a live Twitter Chat. Questions and tips were posted while Twitter users engaged and shared their perspective. Participants were able to interact with one another while sharing knowledge on how to be more mindful and intentional with how they use social media! For anyone interested in the postings, or reading what participants had to say, check out #mindfulsocialchat on Twitter!
Take the leap!
The skills I have gained and the connections I have made after initially going to National Conference have impacted my life in such a positive way. I was someone who was very nervous about flying all the way to the other side of the country, but I am so glad I did. I encourage other 4-Hers who may feel the same way to take the leap and apply for National Conference 2020. The experience is one that I know I will continue to positively reflect on, and I hope the same for all of you!
Apply by November 5, 2019
National 4-H Conference 2020
March 28- April 4, 2020
Review the Conference details, application and team requirements (PDF).
See the National 4-H Conference event page for more information and to apply.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
- Editor: Suzanne Morikawa
The Solano County 4-H Skills Day is an opportunity for 4-H'ers to show what they've learned in their projects and demonstrate their showmanship skills. From that event, they are finding some great cooks! Read their stories by Kathy Keatley Garvey below – and also get their recipes!
From cavies to chili to chocoflan - Just in time for Valentine's Day!
First time cooks sweep Solano County 4-H Chili Cook-off - Great inspiration for cold weather
From cavies to chili to chocoflan...
It's part cake, part flan.
The chocolate dessert recipe originates “from my Great-Aunt Esther and it's what we serve at all our family gatherings,” she said.
It's a winning one, at that. And just in time for Valentine's Day.
Celeste baked the dessert for the recent Solano County 4-H Project Skills Day—where 4-H'ers share what they're learned in their projects—and her presentation and recipe earned a showmanship award, one of seven awarded.
Last year she won a showmanship pin for her project, “Curls Just Want to Have Fun: How to Care for Your Curly Haired Guinea Pig.”
Celeste, a seventh-grader who just turned 13 at the end of January, is active in 4-H. She serves as the treasurer of her 4-H club and last year served as a Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) officer in the Solano County 4-H Program. This year she's enrolled in five projects: cavies, poultry, dogs, record keeping and rabbits.
Always eager to learn, Celeste decided to “take dogs, rabbits and poultry so I can learn showmanship,” she said, noting that she competed in the Round Robin Small Animal Showmanship at two county fairs last year but was inexperienced at showing animals other than cavies. So this year's she's set her sights on learning more about them. Her goal: to place first in Round Robin.
No stranger in the kitchen, Celeste served as a member of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club's Chili Cook-Off team for the last two years in the Solano County 4-H Project Skills Day.
This year, however, she turned from chili to chocoflan. The evaluators loved it! So did the 4-H'ers and their families who sampled it.
Here's the recipe, just in time for Valentine's Day: Chocoflan recipe
First-time Cooks Sweep Solano County 4-H Chili Cook-off
The third time is not the charm.
The first time is.
At least it was for four first-time cooks who teamed to enter—and win—the 2019 Solano County 4-H Chili Cookoff, held recently in the Sierra Vista Elementary School, Vacaville.
The Cowtown Chili Boys from the Vaca Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville--Xander Lovell, Ian Weber and brothers Francis and Matthew Agbayani-- served "Chili Con Carne," a generational family recipe from Xander's grandmother, Peggy Elgin of Maryland.
“That was the only chili we had growing up and we all loved it,” recalled Xander's mother, Diane Lovell, a Kaiser Permanente physician. “We'd go skiing and look forward to having it at the end of the day. So when the boys decided to enter the contest and asked who had a good recipe, I volunteered ours. They said ‘Hey, let's try it!'”
The youths gathered in the Lovell home where Mom Lovell, a radiologist who works at Vacaville Kaiser, showed them how to chop vegetables, measure the ingredients, and cook. None of the boys is enrolled in a 4-H cooking project.
The judges—Solano County District 4 Supervisor John Vasquez, Vacaville Mayor Ron Rowlett and Vacaville Councilman Raymond Beaty—declared the Cowtown Boys the winner after sampling the chili of six cook-off teams and listening to their presentations. The teams represented clubs in Vacaville, Suisun, Vallejo and Dixon.
The winners each received a 4-H backpack filled with a 4-H shirt, a Baskin Robbins gift card and a 4-H sticker, according to coordinator Deanne Weber of the Vaca Valley 4-H Club.
“The Cowtown Boys' chili was delicious,” said Vasquez, a 16-year member of the Solano County Board of Supervisors and a veteran 4-H chili judge. “Overall, this was the best competition ever. Everyone exceled in at least one area.”
This was the first year of judging for Rowlett and Beaty. Rowlett praised the overall presentations. “They were all very impressive,” he said.
Beaty, a first-year councilman, marveled at how the youths partnered with each other and showed both dedication and skill.
Download the 2019 Solano County Chili Cook-off recipes (PDF)
Other chili teams participating:
- Author: Anne Iaccopucci
- Photographer: Photos by Sarah Burton
Over the past few years Color Runs have gained popularity with young people. The original five kilometer run was designed to encourage novice runners to improve their physical activity while also having fun.
Combining Service Learning and Healthy Living
The Color Me Green 5K Runs provide youth with a statewide service learning opportunity specific to the improvement of health. With the support of adult leaders, youth organize and execute 5K runs in their communities. Youth are trained in nutrition and physical activity best practices and also develop partnerships where they aspire to increase the health habits of their community through participation in the Color Me Green 5K Run. 4-H Clubs may choose to host a Color Me Green 5K Run as a county fundraiser. Additional funds from individuals and local businesses can be raised to underwrite costs related to the event. These funds can also be leveraged to aid clubs in securing additional funds at the local level for future runs and health promotion efforts.
Healthy Living Officers
Currently, 4-H has nearly 100 youth serving as Healthy Living Officers in local clubs, serving as the club's ambassador for health. Healthy Living officers are the leaders for all health activities including: providing ideas on how to incorporate physical activities and healthy eating into each club meeting, writing Healthy Living articles for the club newsletter, and adopting and promoting a club Wellness Plan. In this role, teens act as role models while also growing into confident leaders and educators themselves. This process supports teens with opportunities to practice leadership in the arena of health. These officers will be beneficial in the promotion and planning of the Color Me Green 5K Runs. These Officers will also support the continuation of these runs in future years.
Engaging youth, adults and the community at large
County sites receive promotional materials (posters and flyer templates); a Host Guide; and health education materials. These materials will include basic information about injury prevention when running, hydration, the MyPlate dietary guidelines, and tips for staying motivated.
Color Me Green 5K Run planning resources
It is our hope that through participation in the Color Me Green 5K Runs both individuals and communities will aspire to increase their health habits.
Be a health advocate for your community and host a Color Me Green 5K Run!
This year, Color Me Green Runs will take place in the following counties:
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El Dorado |
April 1, 2017 |
Shingle Springs Wellness Center |
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Fresno |
March 18, 2017 |
California State University, Fresno5241 N. Maple Avenue Fresno, Ca 93740 http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=19853 |
|
Imperial County |
February 12, 2017 |
Imperial High School |
|
Santa Clara |
March 19, 2017 |
Martial Cottle Park 5285 Snell Ave, San Jose, California 95136 |
|
Sutter-Yuba |
March 11, 2017 |
Sierra Foothills Research Extension Center (REC), 8279 Scott Forbes Road | Browns Valley |
|
Kings |
April 23, 2017 |
TBA |
|
Monterey |
March 25, 2017 |
2004 Fairgrounds Rd, Monterey, CA Monterey County Fairgrounds and event center |
|
Sonoma |
May 7, 2017 |
Sonoma County Fairgrounds |
|
Mendocino |
May 13, 2017 |
Nelson Vineyards 550 Nelson Ranch Rd Ukiah, CA 95482 |
|
Humboldt |
TBA |
TBA |
