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October 26, 2005
Volume 1, Issue 10
Welcome to the 4-H Afterschool Newsletter, the national online news source for 4-H Afterschool!
4-H Afterschool News:
Notes from Nancy: Nancy Valentine Shares Updates from National 4-H Headquarters
Report from the Road: Eddie Locklear Visits the NEAFCS Annual Conference
Take the 4-H Afterschool Survey
Sixth Annual Lights On Afterschool! is a Success
National 4-H Afterschool Leadership Team Meets For the Last Time
Resources and Opportunities:
Know an Exceptional 4-H Youth? Tell Us!
GLOW Crazy with 4-H Afterschool Wristband
Featured Web Site – The Finance Project
4-H AFTERSCHOOL NEWS
Notes from Nancy: Nancy Valentine Shares Updates from National 4-H Headquarters
-- submitted by Nancy Valentine, Ed.D., National Program Leader, Families, 4-H and Nutrition, CSREES, USDA
There are some exciting things going on in the world of 4-H Afterschool that I wanted to share with you all.
• A 4-H Afterschool Task Force is being formed under the Programs Committee at this year’s National Association of Extension 4-H Agents conference. The first committee meeting will be held on Monday, October 31, 2005, from 3-6 pm; the second meeting will be Wednesday, November 2, 2005 from 5-6 pm. We sincerely hope that many NAE4-HA members that are interested in promoting after-school programs will join us on this committee. I will be organizing and serving as co-chair of the committee for the first year, after which time leadership will be transferred to chair-elect, Stacey Hofmann of Maryland.
• On Wednesday, October 19, 2005, National 4-H Headquarters hosted the Executive Oversight Committee for Afterschool.gov, the one-stop shop for federal resources that support after-school programs. I have been a member of this committee since the inception of this web site several years ago and have participated in developing content, design, and policy. I was a featured presenter, along Sherri Wright of National 4-H Headquarters and Ron Drum of National 4-H Council. Colleagues representing several federal agencies were amazed at the depth and breadth of after-school programming conducted by the Cooperative Extension System, and the resources USDA has to offer. Several expressed a desire to pursue potential collaborative relationships with 4-H and Extension.
• We have nominated Dale Blyth, Director, Center for 4-H Youth Development, University of Minnesota, to represent both 4-H and the National Afterschool Association on the editorial board of the publication “New Directions for Youth Development (NDYD).” We are excited that Dale’s nomination has been forwarded to the current NDYD editor for consideration. This is a great collaborative opportunity between 4-H, NAA and NDYD. We anticipate notification of those selected in about three weeks. Good luck, Dale.
• National 4-H Headquarters will be issuing a call for after-school curriculum in early 2006. Look for more detailed info at NAE4-HA next week. We are looking for new curriculum ideas, to revise existing curriculum into a format for after-school programs, or spruce up existing after-school curriculum as long as it meets National 4-H Juried review standards. If you have existing curriculum suitable for after-school settings or have been mulling over some new ideas, get ready for this exciting opportunity!
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Report from the Road: Eddie Locklear Visits the NEAFCS Annual Conference
-- submitted by Eddie Locklear, Ed.D, National Director, 4-H Afterschool
Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the 2005 NEAFCS (National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences) Annual Conference. The conference was held September 25 – 28, 2005 in the beautiful and historic city of Philadelphia, Pa.
In addition to attending some excellent workshops, I had an opportunity to learn more about the birth place of our country, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, see the Liberty Bell, and learn about the tremendous contributions and sacrifices made by the people who helped shape our nation. The city is full of history and I enjoyed the time I had to learn more about our great country.
4-H Afterschool was well represented at the conference. I presented a workshop titled “Using 4-H Afterschool to Expand Your Program.” The primary objectives of my workshop were to provide an overview of 4-H Afterschool, help participants find ways to get involved with 4-H Afterschool, and encourage participants to use the Extension Cares Initiative (ECI) Evaluation and Reporting System to report their after-school work.
I also enjoyed attending workshops presented by the 2005 FCS 4-H Afterschool Awards of Excellence winners and reviewing their applications. The national winners are doing some outstanding after-school work. Here are some highlights:
• Mary Ann Klinger Oyler from Pennsylvania worked with her 4-H colleagues to develop a regional train-the-trainer model used in seven counties. The model resulted in training 98 agency and child care staff and impacting more than1,200 youth. Mary and her colleagues developed training kits that were used to train after-school staff. The staff could check out the kits to teach youth in their after-school programs. The kits were used during the summer and in after-school programs during the school year. The primary curricula available in the kits covered aerospace, electricity, theater arts and cooking.
• Maisielin Ross from Florida explained how FCS and 4-H faculty combined efforts to develop a babysitting curriculum geared to middle school students. The initial work involved Cooperative Extension staff teaching a few students during in-school sessions. However, the school-based after-school program coordinator heard about the success of the classes and wanted the classes offered to after-school youth. Due to the increased demand for the program, CES staff designed training for after-school staff. Now, after-school staff members receive the training and use the seven hour training modules to teach middle school youth in their programs.
• Project SOAR: Mentoring At-Risk Youth was another national winning program. Juanita O. Waits from Arizona shared successful mentoring strategies and models she used to make a significant difference in the lives of at-risk Hispanic youth. The program helped youth develop life skills and improve their academic performance. The success of the program was the result of the positive relationships established and maintained with mentors, youth, parents, school personnel, and other key community supporters.
• Sheryl Nolen and Linda Mock from Texas were unable to attend the conference due to Hurricane Rita. However, I did get a chance to review their application for the award. Their project, Any Time, Any Place is Cool for 4-H Afterschool, involved adapting 4-H Afterschool to meet the challenges of community after-school programs, partnering to provide on-site staff development training and collaborating to offer unique special interest programs and leadership opportunities to new youth audiences. Session provided during the training included program planning ideas, activities to highlight unit plans and creative approaches to staff development. The program involved a great partnership between a local YMCA and 4-H. Because of the success of the program, CES and YMCA staffs are discussing expanding the program to all of the YMCAs in the Houston, Texas area.
Congratulations to the four national FCS 4-H Afterschool Awards of Excellence winners. Thanks to the winners and all Family and Consumer Sciences faculty and staff for the great work you do to expand 4-H Afterschool.
Take the 4-H Afterschool Survey!
We need data! Funders ask us for data. Potential funders ask us for data. Even 4-H professionals across the country doing the job ask us for data. So how do we get data? Why, with the “4-H Afterschool Abbreviated Report” (a.k.a. “the survey”), of course!
To help states achieve the greatest number of responses possible, we are keeping the survey active through Friday, November 4. If you still have counties or staff that have not yet responded, please ask them to respond as soon as possible. We want the closest numbers to reality as we can get! The survey URL is: http://ext.msstate.edu/survey/afterschool/. A few individuals reported a problem with opening the page when they clicked on the URL in the message. If this happens to you, just cut and paste the URL into the address space. The page is operational.
OR, if you are attending the NAE4-HA Conference next week, stop by the 4-H Afterschool booth. Not only will Eddie Locklear be there, but so will the SURVEY! PLUS, if you stop by the booth and complete the survey, Eddie will give you a 4-H Afterschool tote bag!
Now if you have already completed the survey, stop by anyway and let Eddie know and he’ll give you a bag. In fact, Eddie just can’t wait to get there because he has a bunch of 4-H Afterschool stuff he is ready to give away. So stop by the exhibit and see what you can walk away with! …OR stick around and help give the stuff away! Eddie still needs some help staffing the 4-H Afterschool booth. E-mail Eddie Locklear at elocklear@fourhcouncil.edu to sign up.
Sixth Annual Lights On Afterschool! is a Success
It’s official – this year’s Lights On Afterschool! celebration was a success, with approximately 8000 after-school programs across the nation coming out to celebrate. 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, in addition to Alliance partners Junior Achievement, YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and with support from national presenting sponsor, JCPenney Afterschool Fund, held events across the country ranging from open houses to carnivals to family nights. 4-H Afterschool enjoyed a record 372 registered events, each of which showcased the community of young people across America learning leadership, citizenship and life skills.
In Nashville, Tenn., Davidson County 4-H’s Lights On Afterschool! event was quite a hit. Attendees included representatives from the offices of U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper and Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, as well as state 4-H staff and the local JCPenney Afterschool Fund coordinator, Tina Stewart. There were carnival games with prizes and a “tailgate” party complete with grilled hot dogs. Each 4-H Afterschool youth created their own foam-decorated light bulb. The Cool Springs JCPenney store donated several door prizes that were given away at the end of the night.
Charleston, West Virginia, was also home to a great Lights On Afterschool! celebration. The event was held on the Capitol grounds. Local 4-H youth enjoyed celebrating after-school programs on the grounds of the Capitol and interacting with notable attendees including First Lady Gail Manchin, who read the Lights On Afterschool! proclamation signed by Governor Joe Manchin; Ralph Phelps, Kanawha County Schools Coordinator, 21st Century Learning Centers; and Miss West Virginia 2005, Kimberly Goodwin.
Thanks to all of the 4-H participants for reminding your communities of the need for quality programming in the hours after the school day ends. Keep up the great work!
National 4-H Afterschool Leadership Team Meets For the Last Time
(Chevy Chase, Md.) – The National 4-H Afterschool Leadership Team met October 4-5, 2005 at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center. The team built on the existing work that has occurred in after-school programming across the Cooperative Extension System for the past 25 years to establish an increased national presence of our work. Since they had achieved their goal, they decided it was time to diversify the leadership of 4-H Afterschool to the system as a whole through the state 4-H Afterschool contacts. This shift emphasized that 4-H Afterschool is one of the on-going and many vehicles through which 4-H programs are delivered and not a separate entity or program.
Many thanks to each of the Team members, most of whom have served since the Team formed in 2002. We could not have come this far without your help in building and floating the boat!
The National 4-H Afterschool Leadership Team celebrates. Front row from left: Ron Drum, National 4-H Council; Sheila Urban Smith, Michigan State University; Theresa Ferrari, Ohio State University; Bonita Williams, Lincoln University, Missouri. Back row from left: Eric Killian, University of Nevada, Reno; Michael Newman, Mississippi State University; Marlene Glasscock, Kansas State University; Eddie Locklear, National 4-H Council; Gretchen May, University of Massachusetts; Nancy Valentine, National 4-H Headquarters.
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.
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!
All of these items are available through the National 4-H Supply Service and in the 2006 4-H Source Book.
Featured Web Site – The Finance Project
Visit www.financeproject.org for great resources and information relating to after-school programs. Check out the section of the site titled “Information Resource Center” for a document titled “Finding Funding: A Guide to Federal Sources for Out-of-School Time and Community School Initiatives.” The document contains nearly 200 pages of information regarding funding for out-of-school time programs and information about program sustainability.
Posted by apatel at 01:05 PM | Comments (0)
October 18, 2005
Volume 1, Issue 9
Welcome to the 4-H Afterschool Journal, the national online newsletter for 4-H Afterschool!
We welcome any story ideas -- share your successes, methods and exciting news by e-mailing us here.
4-H Afterschool News:
Take the 4-H Afterschool Survey
Celebrate National 4-H Week, October 2-8, 2005
Lights On! Afterschool 2005 is Coming Soon!
Resources and Opportunities:
Know an Exceptional 4-H Youth? Tell Us!
GLOW Crazy with 4-H Afterschool Wristband
NFL Wristbands Benefit JCPenney Afterschool Fund
Enter the 3rd Annual CYBERCHASE Online Contest
4-H AFTERSCHOOL NEWS
Take the 4-H Afterschool Survey
4-H Afterschool and National 4-H Council needs your help! As we seek future funding for 4-H Afterschool, our potential funders are asking for data. To obtain this information we have created an on-line survey of only 13 easy questions. The survey can be found at: http://ext.msstate.edu/survey/afterschool/. The survey ends October 15.
The information gained through this survey will be used:
• in preparing requests for future 4-H Afterschool funding
• in the completion of performance reports to present funders, and
• in the development of 4-H Afterschool growth predictions.
If you have been doing any programming in the after-school arena and have not done so already, please take a minute and fill out this survey. Thank you in advance for your attention to this request. Thank you as well for all you do in support of 4-H and 4-H Afterschool.
Celebrate National 4-H Week, October 2-8, 2005
National 4-H Week is Sunday, October 2 through Saturday, October 8, 2005. National 4-H Week welcomes you to connect with the 4-H community where young people across America are learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. This year's theme is Make the 4-H Connection.
How can you promote events going on in your community? What do you need to get it all done in time? Where can you hold an event? What can you do in your 4-H Afterschool program to celebrate National 4-H Week? The National 4-H Week 2005 Kit contains a wide variety of media relations and marketing communications collateral to help you successfully promote National 4-H Week 2005 events and activities in your community. You can access the media kit by clicking here.
The kit contains activity guides, bookmarks, brochure, certificates, table tents, many tips, resources and how-to guides, and much, much more. Many of the materials are available in a version that you can easily save and open in Microsoft Word, customize with your community and contact information and print on color printers. All files are in .jpeg (graphics), Adobe .pdf and Microsoft Word. There is a link on the site to help you download the Adobe Reader software.
If you have any questions, please contact Allyson McMahan at amcmahan@fourhcouncil.edu or 301-961-2915.
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. So far, 257 4-H Afterschool affiliated programs have registered their events—and this number is still growing!
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 herethat features artwork and materials, event ideas, sample news releases and much more.
You need to register your LOA! event by clicking here so that we can report on 4-H’s activities. Please register no later than October 4.
The Afterschool Alliance is entering all who register for Lights On! Afterschool by October 4 a $275 Lights On Afterschool Support Kit including: $150 art supply kit from discountschoolsupply.com, 100 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.
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.
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.
Enter the 3rd Annual CYBERCHASE Online Contest
CYBERCHASE, INTEL CORPORATION and FLYING MINDS have teamed up to offer a new and exciting online contest for kids. This year's prizes include Two INTEL(r) CENTRINO(tm) Mobile Technology-based laptop computers from Intel Corporation-One for you AND one for your school or community education group. All contest winners - 1 grand prize winner, 10 first prize winners and 350 second prize winners - will be chosen at random to receive a selection of CYBERCHASE products including backpacks, foot bags and school supplies from FLYING MINDS! Winners will be announced by December 15th.
How to Enter
Kids will be required to print an online entry form, solve the mystery correctly, and have a parent or legal guardian sign and mail the completed entry form to the designated address. Complete rules and regulations will be available with the Contest entry information on the Cyberchase Web site on September 26th.
How You Can Get Involved:
CYBERCHASE needs YOUR help to spread the word about this contest!
Please encourage kids in your area to enter for a chance to win one of our great prizes. A promotional flyer has been made for you to use and is now available for download here.
Please make the flyer available on your local Web site and/or make copies or e-mail the CYBERCHASE Online Contest promotional flyer to teachers, parents... and KIDS!
Also available - the CYBERCHASE online contest link button & logo. For your convenience, the contest button, to be used to link from your website to the Cyberchase 2005 Online Contest, is provided on the Thirteen.org Online Pressroom. Click on the CYBERCHASE button at the bottom of the page. To go directly to the contest homepage, click here. The contest logo is also posted for your use on print materials.
Posted by webmaster@fourhcouncil.edu at 10:07 AM