Posts Tagged: Youth

Farm Bureau of Ventura County Invests in our Youth and the UC 4-H Youth Development Program

When 4-H in Ventura County sought to raise funds that would help it meet the needs of local youth now and in the future, the community responded with tremendous generosity.

A national youth development organization, 4-H aims to empower young people with leadership skills for personal and professional growth. In California, the 4-H program falls under the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources umbrella and is administered through local UC Cooperative Extension offices based in counties across the state.

In May 2023, the Ventura 4-H Volunteer Management Board established the Forever 4-H Ventura County Endowment to ensure sustained financial support for future Ventura County 4-H youth.

Recognizing the value of long-term financial sustainability for 4-H, the Ventura County Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture organized a donation drive to grow the endowment. By July 2024, their members and supporters had donated over $30,000 in support of Ventura County 4-H youth.

“With deep gratitude, the UC 4-H Youth Development program in Ventura County would like to thank every individual and organization for their generosity,” said Shannon Klisch, UC Cooperative Extension Area Director for San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

“A special thank you to our partners at the Farm Bureau of Ventura County for their leadership in raising over $30,000 to support 4-H youth. We know that 4-H youth are more likely to be civically engaged and make healthy choices than their peers and the difference that 4-H can make is in large part due to the supporters and donors that make programming possible," she added.

Funds from the endowment will support general 4-H operations and new programming for youth in 4-H which may include establishing a 4-H camp in Ventura County, increasing programming for youth at the Hansen Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and providing youth with opportunities to develop leadership and life skills.

To learn more about the Forever 4-H Endowment Fund, visit: https://ucanr.edu/sites/4hfoundation/Forever_4-H/

To learn more about 4-H in Ventura County, visit: https://ceventura.ucanr.edu/Families_-_Communities/

Editor's note: The month of donations last received has been updated and program plans for the funds have also been specified in the last paragraph.

Youth development advisors launch blog to share ideas

4-H youth development advisors JoLynn Miller, Nicole Marshall-Wheeler, Marianne Bird and fellow 4-H colleagues have started a new blog titled “Youth Development Insights” to share ideas, strategies and research from the field of positive youth development.

Bird wrote about the 4-H club experience: “What is the Club experience about?  It's about independence and discovering who you are. It's about decision making and planning and recognizing the importance of following through on commitments.” 

Public speaking is a skill 4-H club members will exercise frequently. In a recent blog post, Marshall-Wheeler shares tips for building youths' public speaking confidence.

Check out “Youth Development Insights” and subscribe at https://ucanr.edu/blogs/YouthDevelopmentInsights.

To see the latest on all ANR blogs, visit https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/blogroll.cfm or click on “Blogroll” in the ANR portal.

Fact sheets help guide programs with equity lens

The 4-H Program Leaders Working Group has published a series of fact sheets titled “Thriving with an Equity Lens.” While the fact sheets are written for 4-H professionals, the information is applicable to all of UC ANR's work with communities. 

“These fact sheets provide information and recommendations on how to foster a sense of belonging for marginalized youth, list staff competencies needed to engage a youth population, and offer recommendations for culturally adapting program evaluations,” said Fe Moncloa, 4-H youth development advisor for Santa Clara County. 

“Programming with an equity lens necessitates having an understanding of these concepts at the same time: paying attention to multiple systems of oppression, knowing the past and present cultural histories of your target population and having the ability to shift practices on the spot.

“The information on these fact sheets will hopefully help you have a greater understanding of the cultural histories of diverse populations and support you to offer culturally responsive programs.” 

The first fact sheet defines many terms used to talk about diversity, inclusion and equity.

The 11 fact sheets  cover the following topics:

1. Intro: Thriving Through an Equity Lens
2. Immigrant and Refugee Youth
3. LGBTQ+ Youth
4. Youth Experiencing Homelessness
5. Youth in Foster Care
6. Youth with Disabilities
7. Youth Living in Poverty
8. Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing
9. African American Youth
10. Latinx Youth
11. American Indian/Alaskan Native (First Nations) Youth

All of the “Thriving with an Equity Lens” fact sheets are posted at https://access-equity-belonging.extension.org/resources/fact-sheets.

 

Fresno 4-H Ambassadors help community recover from Creek Fire

Hundreds of wildfires burned in California in 2020. The biggest single wildfire, according to Cal Fire, was the Creek Fire, which started on Sept. 4 near Shaver Lake in Fresno County. It destroyed 856 structures and burned 379,895 acres mostly in the Sierra National Forest until it was declared contained on Dec. 24.

“Fresno County 4-H had several families that lost homes in the Creek Fire, especially from our Ridge Top 4-H Club,” said 4-H program representative Tracy Newton. 

To help their fellow 4-H members and community recover from the Creek Fire, 4-H Ambassadors in Fresno County assembled baskets containing handmade dough ornaments and a seedling to give to fire survivors. They also partnered with Intermountain Nursery and Sierra Resiliency Fund to begin protecting the scorched land from erosion.

In a video about their efforts, 4-H Ambassadors Caydin Simonian, Ciara Zito, Nicole Ward and Clayton Pennebaker and local partners describe their roles.

“Without volunteers, we can't get very much done. It's nice to have a core group of individuals that are excited and motivated to do work,” Allyson Brooks, Sierra Resiliency Fund volunteer coordinator, said in the video. 

Zito added, “I know together we can make a difference.” 

Newton is proud of the Ambassador team's efforts supporting the Creek Fire recovery. "They've worked so hard, I'd like to see our community aware of their great efforts as well as our UC ANR community," she said. “I think they've done an amazing job! “ 

“Through sales of 4-H logo items and donations received, the team was able to purchase 750 seedlings which will be planted locally,” Newton said. “They are working towards participating in multiple workdays for tree plantings. In addition, there were workdays at the nursery transferring seedlings to larger containers and watering. They also supported in creating a community display that will be placed in the Creek Fire exhibit at the Sierra Historical Society.” 

See the video at https://youtu.be/fCvHuFu8e1k.

Rotary donates $5000 to 4-H in Modoc County

The Alturas Sunrise Rotary donated $5000 towards the Modoc County Forever 4-H Endowment.

This endowment, established in 2018 amid state budget constraints, is intended to support the 4-H program in Modoc County for generations to come. Over 30% of the youth in Modoc County were served by 4-H programs in 2018.

Donations and memorial gifts are still being accepted for Modoc County Forever 4-H Endowment and will be matched until a goal of $20,000 is met.

“We are just over halfway, $10,935 and have a match for up to $20,000 so we will keep working on it this winter and spring,” said Laura Snell, UCCE Modoc County director.

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