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August 31, 2005
Volume 1, Issue 8
Welcome to the 4-H Afterschool Journal, the national online newsletter for 4-H Afterschool!
4-H Afterschool News:
4-H Afterschool Journal Update
Spotlight On: Ina Metzger Linville, Ph.D.
4-H Afterschool Opens Doors Award Application Available
Lights On! Afterschool 2005 is Coming Soon!
4-H Community ATV Safety Program Youth Grants Awarded
Resources and Opportunities:
Know an Exceptional 4-H Youth? Tell Us!
A Note About the 4-H Afterschool/JCPenney Afterschool Fund Partnership
GLOW Crazy with 4-H Afterschool Wristband
NFL Wristbands Benefit JCPenney Afterschool Fund
Visit the After-School All Stars
4-H AFTERSCHOOL NEWS
4-H Afterschool Journal Update
It’s been a month since the last issue of the 4-H Afterschool Journal, and we wanted to share some changes. We’ve updated the look for the new school year and moved the 4-H Afterschool Journal to a once-a-month format, arriving in your e-mail boxes on the last Wednesday of each month. We hope that these changes will make the 4-H Afterschool Journal a good resource for you. We continue to welcome any story ideas, questions or comments at 4-hafterschool@fourhcouncil.edu.
Spotlight On: Ina Metzger Linville, Ph.D.
A new feature of the 4-H Afterschool Journal is the monthly spotlight on a 4 H Afterschool educator who has helped to advance 4-H Afterschool and the 4-H Youth Development movement.
Ina Metzger Linville, Ph.D. has over 25 years of experience in 4-H Youth Development. She is currently assistant director at the University of Missouri 4-H Center for Youth Development. We asked Ina a few questions about her work with 4-H Afterschool, and here’s what she had to say!
Q: What are some exciting projects currently happening with 4-H Afterschool in Missouri?
A: We just held our 4-H Afterschool-JCPenney Afterschool Fund-NFL Charities Teen Retreat. We had 22 teens who have not historically been involved with 4-H Youth Development Programs. It was amazing to see the transformation from skepticism to engagement and enthusiasm for learning and developing skills to work with middle-school youth. It was a phenomenal experience.
Q: What is your favorite 4-H project?
A: My favorite project is the visual and performing arts. The arts are a great way to learn about the cultures of us, of our country and our world. I have been involved with developing curriculum for 4-H in visual arts and hope to expand to music in the future.
Q: What is the most unique 4-H Afterschool project or activity that you organized or participated in?
A: The University of Missouri 4-H Center for Youth Development will be the home of the Missouri Afterschool Network. We will serve as an incubator for this organization until they mature organizationally and financially to stand on their own. The Network is creating a central voice for all afterschool in Missouri and creating an integrated system of program improvement and professional development to impact the quality of afterschool environments for all children, youth and families in Missouri.
Q: What is your favorite thing about 4-H and 4-H Afterschool?
A: If you ever need a pick-me-up or a reminder of what we are about, spend time in an afterschool program. The kids and staff always make me smile and laugh.
Q: Tell us an interesting fact about your work with 4-H Afterschool.
A: I authored the first national Latchkey Business Plan for USDA, CSREES in 1988. This is how far we and our system have come.
Q: What advancements do you hope to see in 4-H Afterschool in the next 5 years?
A: 4-H Afterschool is positioning 4-H Youth Development as the premier youth development organization it is. I would like to see direct and stable funding from a variety public and private agencies so we can put more dynamic extension faculty in field and compensate the quality staff we put or train in 4-H Afterschool programs who work with the kids so that they feel valued and rewarded.
Thank you Ina, for sharing your responses and for all you do to advance 4-H Afterschool.
Do you know of an outstanding 4-H Afterschool educator who should be featured in the monthly spotlight? E-mail 4-hafterschool@fourhcouncil.edu with your suggestions.
4-H Afterschool Opens Doors Award Application Available
We are proud to announce that 4-H Afterschool is offering an award recognizing 4-H volunteers who are involved in 4-H Afterschool programming in their communities. Awards of $500 each will be awarded to 25 volunteer-led 4-H Afterschool projects. The funds will be given to outstanding 4-H volunteers--youth and adults--who are providing one or more of the following activities within their communities:
1) Training after-school program staff;
2) Increasing the use of 4-H curricula in after-school programs;
3) Helping organize 4-H Clubs in after-school programs;
4) Providing 4-H activities to youth in after-school programs; and/or
5) Working with JCPenney Afterschool Fund partners (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, YMCA, Junior Achievement, and/or Afterschool Alliance) or other groups (schools, faith-based, community-based groups) to offer 4-H curricula and/or training to youth and staff in after-school programs.
This awards program is open to all 4-H youth and adult volunteers currently involved with a local 4-H Afterschool program. The funds must be used to support 4-H Afterschool work in local communities. A local 4-H professional staff member must sign the award application verifying that the applicant is a 4-H volunteer.
For more information and to obtain an application, contact Ron Drum, national coordinator, 4-H Afterschool at rdrum@fourhcouncil.edu or 301-961-2814.
Lights On! Afterschool 2005 is Coming Soon!
On October 20, 2005, it is anticipated that over 7,500 after-school programs across the country and nearly 1 million people will mark the fifth annual Lights On! Afterschool celebration. Lights On!, a project of the Afterschool Alliance, brings attention to the importance of after-school programs for youth, parents and communities and urges support for these programs which help to keep kids safe in the critical hours after school.
4-H Afterschool, along with partners Junior Achievement, YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and with support from the JCPenney Afterschool Fund, is supporting this nationwide event. Last year, 302 4-H Afterschool programs celebrated LOA!. This year, we want to see even more 4-H Afterschool participation.
Past LOA! 4-H affiliated events included a family game night, free spaghetti supper, stakeholder breakfast, county fair exhibit, parades, project fairs and talent shows. No program is too small or too large to hold a LOA! event. This is a cumulative effort to raise awareness for after-school programs, so every little bit helps.
To plan your event, there is a Lights On! Afterschool 2005 event planning kit at http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/lights_on/planning.cfm that features artwork and materials, event ideas, sample news releases and much more.
You need to register your LOA! event at http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/lights_on/get_involved.cfm so that we can report on 4-H’s activities. Please register no later than September 9.
The Afterschool Alliance is entering all who register for Lights On! Afterschool by September 9 to win a $750 Lights On! Afterschool Support Kit including: $500 gift certificate for www.discountschoolsupply.com, 200 Lights On! Afterschool blinking strobe buttons, and 100 Lights On! Afterschool posters.
Please NOTE that the LOA! registration form offers an opportunity to indicate agency affiliation. It is highly important to check “4-H” when 4-H is involved so we can get credit for our participation. Multiple affiliations can be checked off. Also, whenever possible, include “4-H” in the event title – this makes it easier to see 4-H affiliated events in the on-line list of events.
Watch for the big, yellow, traveling light bulb visiting communities around the country in support of Lights On! Afterschool. Contact Ron Drum at rdrum@fourhcouncil.edu if you would like the light bulb to visit your community.
4-H Community ATV Safety Program Youth Grants Awarded
Twenty-two sites in twenty states are the recipients of the 2005 4-H Community ATV Safety Program Youth Grants. The grants of $7,500 each are funded by American Honda Motor Company, Inc. and the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA) and will be used by local 4-H clubs to educate youth and adults on the risks of ATV riding and how to safely avoid them.
The states receiving funds include Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, Washington and West Virginia.
The program is part of the nationwide 4-H Community ATV Safety Program, a partnership between local 4-H club leaders, the national 4-H youth development organization and the ATV industry. It was formed to build awareness for safe riding practices as the popularity of ATVs continues to rise in the United States.
The grants will provide the funding for 4-H clubs to impart ATV safety knowledge in their communities. The grantees will take what they learned at the training and share the information with ATV adults and youth in their communities.
"The 4-H programs are unique because they are youth-adult collaborations," said Susan Halbert, senior vice president of 4-H and extension relations at National 4-H Council. "Kids know how to talk to other kids so that they will listen, and youth working together with adults to make a difference in their communities is an important element of 4-H."
RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Know an Exceptional 4-H Youth? Tell Us!
We all know why 4-H is special, but we need your help to tell everyone out there who doesn't yet know! We're looking for stories about exceptional youth who are making a difference through 4-H. Outstanding leaders, unique activities and other stories that we can develop to tell the story of 4-H Afterschool across the country. For example, there’s a 4-H teen in Kentucky who raises money to outfit police dogs with bulletproof vests and a 4-H youth who makes blankets to send back to the orphanage in Russia she was adopted from.
Do you know of a story that’s interesting, inspiring or unique? You don’t have to write it, just call us and talk—we’ll do the rest. Repeat, you don’t have to write it!
A short conversation will go a long way towards promoting 4-H across the country. It helps increase awareness of the good 4-H does for our youth, and ensures continued funding for our programs. So please take a minute, think about all the great things 4-H youth and programs do, and TELL US! E-mail us at wow@fourhcouncil.edu or call Gretchen at 301-961-2829.
A Note About the 4-H Afterschool/JCPenney Afterschool Fund Partnership
The JCPenney Afterschool Fund is the National Presenting Sponsor of 4-H Afterschool. As a result of this partnership, all 4-H funding from the JCPenney Afterschool Fund is provided to National 4-H Council to expand the 4-H Afterschool work across the country. National 4-H Council offers these funds to the 4-H System through a RFP process. The RFP is announced through email, newsletters, and other communication channels of 4-H.
Anyone interested in learning more about the availability of funds or wanting to secure funds to support 4-H Afterschool activities should get in touch with the State 4-H Afterschool Contact in the State 4-H Office at their land-grant university. Cooperative Extension professionals and 4-H Volunteers are encouraged to contact their State 4-H Office and not the JCPenney Afterschool Fund or JCPenney stores for funding support.
GLOW Crazy with 4-H Afterschool Wristband
GLOW crazy with a 4-H Afterschool wristband and show your support of after-school programs! The GLOW-IN-THE-DARK 4-H Afterschool wristbands are now available in youth and adult sizes. Check it out here.
Other available 4-H Afterschool items include:
- A white ceramic mug with emblem
- Navy blue polo shirt with emblem on left chest
- T-shirts with emblem across chest
- Green 4-H Afterschool tote bags
- 4-H Afterschool lanyard
- Coming soon: a 4-H Afterschool pen!
The glow-in-the-dark 4-H Afterschool wristband is ideal as a promotional item for 4-H Lights On! Afterschool event. The lights never go out on education when 4-H is involved.
All of these items are available through the National 4-H Supply Service and in the 2006 4-H Source Book.
NFL Wristbands Benefit JCPenney Afterschool Fund
Are you ready for some FOOTBALL? What better way to show your spirit than to sport your favorite NFL team's official wrist bands during the upcoming season? JCPenney is the exclusive retailer of the official NFL wrist bands that are sure to be the hit of the summer. Each set sells for $2.99 and includes two wrist bands in the team's home and away colors. All net profits from the sale of the wrist bands and NFL royalties go to the JCPenney Afterschool Fund, which provides support to after-school programs such as 4-H Afterschool.
JCPenney also has a special opportunity for kids between the ages of 6-13. This summer the Take A Player To School Sweepstakes presented by the NFL and JCPenney Afterschool will give 33 lucky kids the chance to take an NFL player to school! The sweepstakes kicks off in JCPenney Stores across the nation on July 24 and will run through September 22. To enter the Take A Player To School Sweepstakes, visit any JCPenney Store or log onto www.NFLyouthfootball.com for a complete set of rules.
Visit the After-School All Stars
After-School All-Stars offers a proven alternative for middle school children, engaging them in activities and on-going relationships that increase confidence and encourage success in all areas of their lives—at home, in school and in the community. Click here to visit their page for back-to-school tips, success stories and more!
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