4-H great program for youth

Fall is a busy time for many recognition weeks of various groups and organizations. There is Clergy Appreciation Month, Newspaper Week, Fire Prevention Week, Manufacturer’s Week, Education Week and the list goes on.
But there is one that is especially meaningful to me and many youth around the country. It’s National 4-H Week, which was celebrated last week. 
Empowering young people to reach their full potential. That’s exactly what the 4-H program does for millions of kids around the country. It is a positive youth development organization that has had a profound impact on my life.
As I look back on my years of growing up, there is one thing that defined my childhood and who I am today. It was my involvement in the 4-H program. As far as I’m concerned, 4-H is one of the greatest programs available for youth.
For those who may not be aware, the name 4-H represents four personal development areas of focus for the organization: head, heart, hands and health. The organization has more than 6.5 million members in the United States ranging in ages 5-19. Today, 4-H and related programs exist in over 80 countries around the world. 
Like many organizations, 4-H is always looking for new members to join the program. Fall begins the new year for 4-H and what a better time than now to make a commitment to joining the organization. 
I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re thinking my child doesn’t need another activity to get involved in. Life is already too hectic. But let me assure you 4-H is probably one of the best investments of time you could ever make into your child’s life. And there is concrete research to back that up.
The 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, a longitudinal study conducted by the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University, shows youth engaged with 4-H are:
•Nearly two times more likely to get better grades in school;
•Nearly two times more likely to go to college;
•41 percent less likely to engage in risky behaviors;
•25 percent more likely to positively contribute to their families and communities.
I was involved in 4-H for more than 10 years showing hogs, taking pictures, growing a garden, making foods, demonstrating in front of crowds and much more. I found that 4-H fostered an innovative, “learn by doing” approach.
It becomes more than more clear to me the older I get what 4-H has done in my life. I attribute much of my professional and community success to the leadership skills I gained through the 4-H program.
As an example, I believe 4-H gave me the confidence I needed to seek out a job at my hometown newspaper by myself as a 13-year-old and later become the assistant editor by the time I graduated from high school. Not many teenagers can make a claim like that.
My love for 4-H has rubbed off onto my children. It is so neat to see them grow and develop in the program like I did. My oldest daughter took part in great things like Citizenship Washington Focus and became a state 4-H ambassador. 
There is a common myth out there that 4-H is only for farm kids. That’s the furthest from the truth. While the program centered around the farm in its earliest years, 4-H today actually focuses more on activities off the farm. Like life in general, 4-H has been forced to adapt to changing times.
The 4-H program has run into its own challenges in recent years as the size of families has shrunk and youth are bombarded with many different activities to occupy their time. But 4-H is holding its own as I recently found out during an interview with Brad Rugg, the state’s top 4-H superintendent who lives in Owatonna. 
Rugg pointed out that dairy farms in the state have dropped 40 percent in the last 15 years, yet at the same time the 4-H dairy enrollment has only gone down 15 percent. Rugg credits the leasing program in which non-farm kids can still show animals with helping maintain healthy enrollment numbers. Leasing is one way 4-H has reinvented itself.
According to Rugg, 4-H is the largest youth group in Minnesota as it reaches out to 90,000 kids every year. It is available in every county expect Cook in the far northern part of the state. 
Rugg agreed that 4-H is more about building life skills than competing at the fairs. He said, “4-H aims to build good character in kids.”
I strongly encourage all youth to consider making 4-H a part of their lives. Take it from a former 4-H’er, going in hot pursuit of joining 4-H is a choice you won’t ever regret.