Oklahoma 4-H Making a Difference It’s been almost 100 years since the first corn club met in Johnston County. Although 4-H clubs may look different today, 4-H and it’s activities still make a difference in the lives of members and their families Oklahoma 4-H Making a Difference

What is 4-H? 4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning leadership, citizenship and life skills A 4-H member can participate in at least 50 projects and countless activities, but the foundation of the 4-H experience, regardless of the project, is the development of leadership, citizenship and life skills.

4-H is… Youth Development component of the Cooperative Extension Service The largest youth serving organization in the world Dedicated to education, youth development and service Not long after the cooperative extension service was organized, educators realized that the way to reach parents with educational materials and resources was through their children and 4-H became the youth development arm of USDA and the land grant university system. The world’s largest youth organization is dedicated to education, service and helping youth develop not only specific project skills, but their leadership and public speaking skills as well.

Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Based at Oklahoma State University and Langston University Provide research based information in Agriculture and Natural Resources, Rural Development, Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H/Youth Development An office in almost every county The Cooperative Extension service in Oklahoma is based at the two land grant universities: The 1862 Land Grant University – Oklahoma State The 1890 Land Grant University – Langston Campus based specialists, county educators and paraprofessionals provide research based information in all base program areas, with an Extension Office in almost every county.

4-H Focus Areas Leadership Development Health and Wellness Environmental Stewardship Science and Technology 4-H Visibility In 4-H, we focus on 5 major areas, Leadership Development, Health an d Wellness, Environmental Stewardship, Science and Technology and 4-H Visibility

Why 4-H Projects “work” Youth have the opportunity to: Set goals Gain knowledge Develop skills Learn by doing Accept responsibility Be recognized for their achievements, lead and serve others Within each Focus Area are many individual projects that 4-H members work on. Project work gives 4-H members a chance to: Set short and long term goals for project work and achievement Learn more about a specific project or subject Develop project related skills, along with leadership skills Learn through experience – what works and what doesn’t Become responsible for care of an animal, a garden, crops, or for completion of an activity or event Through the opportunity to lead and serve others, 4-H members achieve their goals

Project Work = Life Skills Decision-making Goal setting Planning, doing, evaluating Teamwork/Cooperation Communication Responsibility Recordkeeping Through project work, 4-H members develop a variety of life skills The make decisions every time they choose between their project work and some other activity At the beginning of each program year, they set goals for their project work, along with the 4-H year Many of the projects require planning an activity, actually conducting the activity and then evaluating it to make it better the next time Member cooperate with other members, volunteers and educators as they work toward individual and team goals They learn to communicate with others in small groups as they share project ideas and through public speaking opportunities Members learn that while there are caring adults to help along the way, they are ultimately responsible for the successful completion of their project work While keeping records is no 4-H member’s favorite activity, accurate records are important if members want to compete for awards and all adults know that learning to keep good records is a skills that is best learned sooner rather than later

4-H Projects Consumer, Family & Health Related Projects Animal Science Personal Development, Citizenship & Leadership Science & Technology Communications and Visual Arts Environmental Education As you can see, 4-H members enroll in a variety of projects related to the 4-H Focus areas. As a part of their 4-H work, they often serve as partners with educators and volunteers to deliver programs in these areas.

County 4-H Statistics Summarize county 4-H facts & figures on this slide

4-H members gain decision-making skills 4-H members have many opportunities to evaluate animals, meat, crops and plants, consumer items and others. Regardless of what is being judged, members learn to compare an item, a cut of meat or an animal to a standard, then make decisions when placing the class. Through judging activities

Share knowledge and skills with others Through project work, 4-H members have a unique opportunity – to teach others. No other youth organization gives youth as many opportunities to teach as the 4-H program does. In formal and informal settings, through workshops like this one

Serve Their Communities Service to the community is stressed at all levels – whether it’s working at the Regional Food Bank in Oklahoma City, as the youth in the picture are, or cleaning up a local park, 4-H youth give back to their communities. Members packaging corn at the Regional Food Bank

Tell the 4-H Story 4-H Day at the Capitol 4-H members have a variety of opportunities to tell the 4-H story at all levels 4-H Day at the Capitol

Sharing project work and running for office Lead by Example Whether sharing project work with young children, speaking in front of a group or running for office, 4-H members provide positive role models through the examples they set and the leadership they exhibit. Sharing project work and running for office

4-H in your County Add information about 4-H in your county to localize this presentation

County Project Insert a photo of an outstanding county project to the left and describe it here

4-H members make a difference A sample* group of 240 4-H teens: Reached 25.7 million people through 4-H project work Organized 57,108 activities, workshops and presentations Spent nearly 380,000 hours planning, conducting and evaluating 4-H activities *4-H members who submitted 4-H record books and award applications in 2012 In 2005, Oklahoma 4-H members presented almost 20,000 talks, demonstrations and illustrated presentations, organized or taught 22,000 workshops, conducted 23,000 community service activities, spent more than 330,000 serving their communities and reached almost 9 million youth and adults with educational information.

4-H Alumni Are engaged in their communities A study1 published in the Journal of Extension found that youth involved in 4-H are: More likely to have higher grades than non-4-H members Less likely to participate in risky behaviors More likely to discuss important issues with their parents More likely to hold leadership positions and participate in community service activities 1Seevers, B. S., Hodnett, F., and Van Leeuwen, D. (2011). Findings of 4-H Impact Studies in Six Western States. Journal of Extension, 49(4). Retrieved from http://www.joe.org/joe/2011august/a4.php As a recent study at OSU shows, 4-H Alumni use the life skills they developed as 4-H members to become involved in their communities

The Lasting Effect of 4-H on Volunteerism & Leadership 4-H Alumni 95% volunteer monthly in their communities 80% belong to one or more community groups 86% have held leadership positions in a community organization in the last 3 years Non-4-H Oklahomans 77% volunteer monthly in their communities 70% belong to one or more community groups 62% have held leadership positions in a community organization in the last 3 years In comparing the 2 sample groups, 95% of 4-H alumni volunteer each month in their communities compared to 77% of adults who were not 4-H members 80% of 4-H alumni belong to one or more community groups compared with 70% in the control group Former 4-H members were 24% more likely to take on a leadership role in a community organization than adults who had not been 4-H members

The Lasting Effect of 4-H on Education and Voting 4-H Alumni 66% hold a 4 year college degree 30% hold advanced degrees 96% have voted in the past 3 years Non-4-H Oklahomans 20% hold a 4-year college degree 10% hold advanced degrees 89% have voted in the past 3 years 2/3 of 4-H alumni surveyed hold a 4 year college degree compares with 20% of the sample without a 4-H background Almost 1/3 of former 4H members hold a Masters or higher degree while 1/10 of the comparison group hold advanced degrees Finally, Former 4-H members are slightly more likely to vote in local, state and national elections