YEX-44, Reprinted May 1998. Jacquelyn P. Robinson, Extension 4-H Program Specialist--Educational Design, Associate Professor, Education, Auburn University

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Today's 4-H: What's In It For YOU

• Would you like to meet an actress?
• Do you like to make videos or take pictures of your friends and family?
• Are you interested in aerospace?

4-H Emblem:

The national 4-H Club emblem is a four-leaf clover. The clover is a symbol of achievement and good luck. The four-H's stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.

4-H Pledge:

4-H Club Motto:

To Make The Best Better.

 

4-H Club Colors:

The national 4-H Club colors are green and white--white for purity and green for growing things.

 

Pledge Of Allegiance To The United States Flag:

Types of 4-H Clubs

A 4-H Club is an organized neighborhood or school group of youth between the ages of 9 and 19. There are several types of 4-H Clubs:

• School Enrichment Programs meet during school hours. They add to what you learn in school. Teachers may be Extension staff, trained volunteers, or school teachers.
• Community or Neighborhood Summer Clubs meet during the summer, usually in members' homes.
• Special Interest Clubs focus on areas of interest to 4-H'ers. Examples of special interests are environmental stewardship, aerospace, beef cattle, and food preservation.
• Year-Round Community Clubs are usually organized by parents, members, or adult leaders and are open to young people in a given community. Meetings are often held in members' homes, at schools, in clubhouses, or at other meeting places in the community.
• School Clubs may meet at the elementary, middle, junior high, or high school. Meetings are held regularly during the school year.
• After School Clubs meet after school hours or on Saturdays. Meetings may be held in school buildings, members' homes, or other meeting places.

Alabama 4-H Programs

Each county offers a variety of 4-H programs. Your leader can help you select the one that is best for you. Additional programs can come later. Four-H program categories that you may choose from are listed below.

1. Citizenship And Civic Education--Prepares you to take part in local, state, and national government and to work with people who have special needs.
2. Communications And Expressive Arts--Teaches you to express your self verbally and visually and to put your ideas across.
3. Consumer And Family Sciences--Prepares you to become a smart buyer and teaches you about family life, including parenting, child development, and home environment.
4. Environmental Education and Earth Sciences--Helps you do your part to save the earth! You study how people and the environment must work together to create a better place to live.
5. Healthy Lifestyle Education--Makes you a better you. You learn and apply facts about food and nutrition, exercise, physical health, and other health-related issues, including substance abuse.
6. Personal Development And Leadership--Teaches you to be a leader and explore career possibilities. You learn to balance your time for work and play.
7. Plants And Animals--Teaches you about gardening and plant life, or about animal production and pet care--whatever suits your interests.
8. Science And Technology--Gives you a jump-start on the future. You learn about the physical and technical world around you and learn to apply your knowledge in science, math, engineering, biology, and physical sciences in your everyday life.
9. International Exchange Program--Four-H offers students the chance to travel. Each summer students from Japan and Alabama crisscross the ocean to stay in each other's homes. They sight-see, sample a different culture, and make new friends.
10. Summer Camps
11. Space Camp
12. Science Academy
13. School Environmental Camps
14. Performing Arts Camp
15. Fashion Interaction

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Alabama 4-H Center

A mountain get-away with a lake and nature trails, a pool and tennis courts--a center for fun and learning. Four-H'ers can visit this special place year-round to participate in a variety of camps, workshops, and retreats.

The Alabama 4-H Center, located in the center of the state, is an easy drive from your hometown. Ask your county Extension agent or 4-H leader about how to be involved in one of the many camps or activities offered throughout the year.

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Where Can I Get More Information?

If you have received a leaflet from an Extension agent, teacher, or 4-H leader, ask that person for more information. Otherwise, call your county Extension office. Look in your telephone directory under your county's name to find the number.

There are more than 82,000 4-H'ers in Alabama.

Four-H dates back to the 1800s. Before they were called 4-H Clubs, they were called Corn Clubs for boys and Tomato Clubs for girls.

Four-H is a part of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System which is made up of Alabama A&M University, Auburn University, and Tuskegee University.

Four-H is a national program with groups throughout the United States and in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.

For more information, contact your county Extension office. Visit http://www.aces.edu/counties or look in your telephone directory under your county's name to find contact information. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.