4-H News:

A Look Back on 2005: 4-H Members Find a Common Thread in Their Communities

One year ago, two dedicated 4-H supporters, John and Annette Douthat, gave a generous gift to 4-H: 750 sewing machines courtesy of AllBrands.com. Throughout 2005, 4-H members across America had a chance to put the sewing machines to work. After suffering a few broken needles, those 750 machines helped 4-H members to not just improve their sewing skills, but they also taught them how to master another life skill – helping others.

In Washtenaw County, Mich., 4-H clubs saw a need for those in the Ann Arbor community to keep warm as winter approached. They asked for help from other groups to join them in a pledge to make 500 fleece mittens for those in need. 4-H clubs, sewing groups, senior citizen centers and private citizens took an interest and immediately joined together to reach the goal.

Nearby in Cole Camp, Mo., the Pathfinders 4-H Club decided to use their sewing skills to make baptismal gowns for premature infants and donate them to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.

Many of the sewing machines even found their way to county and state camps in time for the summer. The Onslow County 4-H Summer Day Camps in N.C. and three Iowa county camps used the machines to learn their sewing skills by creating pillows. At least 75% of the Iowa campers had said they had never used a sewing machine before, but by the end of camp they had each completed a pillow case to take home.

The one-time donation from AllBrands.com Sewing Machines was valued at more than $100,000. John and Annette Douthat have a close relationship with 4-H. Annette is a former Louisiana 4-H member and officer. John is a former state FFA officer from Florida. They have both helped judge 4-H Casual Wear Contests during Short Courses at Lousiana State University. Today, the Douthats are the proud owners of AllBrands.com.

Continue to stay tuned to Clover Corner News as more unique opportunities are available to 4-H clubs across America.

COLE CAMP, Mo.—The Pathfinders 4-H Club made 25 gowns to give to their local hospital for premature babies.

ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C.—A 4-H adult volunteer assists one of the Onslow County 4-H members in sewing her 4-H pillow at the county 4-H camp.
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2006 Building Wonder in Math and Science Grants

2006 Building Wonder in Math and Science Grants
Funding provided by Toyota USA Foundation
Awards of $30,000 Each
Deadline: February 1, 2006, 12 Noon EST
Grant Period: February 20 – July 31, 2006
Contact: elocklear@fourhcouncil.edu

The grants will support an innovative science, engineering and technology project to advance scientific learning for underrepresented minority middle and high school youth and help achieve a learning environment for scientific discovery. Grantees will utilize the Wonderwise curricula, a science curricula designed to help youth master the conceptual understanding of science and mathematics through scientific inquiry, reasoning and decisions making.

Four state and/or U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) will each receive a $30,000 grant to launch Building Wonder in Math and Science in multiple 4-H Afterschool and/or summer program sites reaching a minimum of 360 middle school youth, 18 high school teens, and nine adult volunteers per state. The program must be structured using the Teens as Volunteer Leaders approach. High school teens and their adult partners will be trained in Wonderwise and program delivery models that are effective with middle school age youth. High school participants will be placed in teams of two with an adult coach and will teach middle school youth Wonderwise curricula in site-based after-school and/or summer programs. The program must be completed from February through July, 2006. Priority will be given to those states who exhibit a strong capacity to reach the target population and to effectively deliver the Wonderwise curricula.

Grants are offered only to 4-H/Extension Programs within the United States and its territories. Only one grant will be awarded per state. Extension professionals at 1862, 1890 and 1994 land-grant institutions are encouraged to work together in developing one grant application for their state. State level 4-H faculty members are encouraged to work with local 4-H professionals to develop the grant proposal. Only one grant application will be accepted per state or territory. It is the State 4-H and FCS Leaders’ responsibility to select the application to be submitted to Council.

The application can be found at www.fourhcouncil.edu. Click on “2006 Application” at the bottom of the page under “Related Links” to open or download the application. Completed applications are due February 1, 2006 at 12 Noon EST. If you have any questions, email elocklear@fourhcouncil.edu.
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National 4-H Programs of Distinction: Recognizing Top Youth Development Programs

For more than a year, the national-level 4-H Programs of Distinction site has been collecting applications for top youth development programs in communities across America. There are now more than 20 peer-reviewed Cooperative Extension youth development programs from around the country that are housed in an on-line searchable database. The database allows other 4-H leaders to search for ideas and replicate best practices in their communities.

The Programs of Distinction peer review process has helped 4-H programs receive grants and gain recognition. During 2005, the first full year of Programs of Distinction, there were many successes for the peer review process including:
• Five Programs of Distinction, UNL for Families, Living Interactive Family Education (LIFE) 4-H Program, Strengthening Family Involvement in Millville-Regional Safe Schools/Healthy Students Collaborative, Attitudes for Success Youth Leadership Program and Family Camp, received National 4-H Council’s Annie E. Casey 4-H Families Count Family Strengthening Awards ($15,000 for each program!) in October. [Click here to read more…]
• Two Programs of Distinction, Seeds to Success and LIFE 4-H Program, will be included in an upcoming, national publication from the National Collaboration for Youth entitled Making a Difference in the Lives of Youth.
• Six Programs of Distinction workshops were presented at NAE4-HA 2005 in Seattle.
• Three Programs of Distinction, 4-H Wildlife Stewards, Michigan 4-H Youth Conservation Council and 4-H20 Pontoon Classroom, received $7,500 each from the National 4-H Council’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Awards in October.

These and other great Programs of Distinction are featured in the searchable database available at www.cyfernet.org.

This spring, web-based trainings on how to submit a Program of Distinction manuscript will be offered. To learn more, stay tuned to Clover Corner News or click here.
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National 4-H Programs of Distinction Peer Reviewers Needed

National 4-H Headquarters, CSREES, USDA, is currently accepting applications for volunteer Programs of Distinction peer reviewers for 2006. Ten reviewer slots are available. Programs of Distinction is a peer-reviewed collection of youth development programs created by Extension professionals. The collection is housed in a searchable web-based database accessible through the National 4-H Headquarters Web site and www.cyfernet.org.

Please note that this is a volunteer position and reviewers donate their time for the review of manuscripts and peer reviewer training (conducted on the Web). The Programs of Distinction review team is comprised of 4-H youth development educators and specialists, family and consumer science and human development educators and specialists and other Extension professionals familiar with the field of youth development.

Benefits to you as a reviewer include:
• An opportunity to help select outstanding Cooperative Extension youth development programs for inclusion in the National 4-H Headquarters’ Programs of Distinction database.
• An opportunity to network with other youth development and FCS professionals from around the country.
• A professional development experience to enhance your evaluation and program development skills.
• A valuable addition to your resume, vitae, or promotion and tenure file.

You should be able to:
• Review and return the manuscripts submitted for Programs of Distinction in a timely manner—typically within 2 weeks.
• Make recommendations based on how well the submission meets established criteria.
• Provide specific comments that will be returned to the author.
• Serve as a peer reviewer for a minimum of one year (maximum of two years).
• Participate in a 2-hour web-based training.

In addition to youth development expertise, Programs of Distinction peer reviewers should also have some prior peer reviewing experience. This can include experiences such as reviewing conference workshop or poster submissions, journal articles or grant applications at the national, regional, state or local levels. In addition, because of our connection with two National 4-H Council award programs (Annie E. Casey 4-H Families Count Awards and the NRCS Youth Environmental Awards), we are also looking for reviewers with expertise in family strengthening and natural resources.

If you have questions about the Programs of Distinction process, please contact Suzanne Le Menestrel at slemenestrel@csrees.usda.gov or (202) 720-2297. Click here to download the Programs of Distinction reviewer application. Completed applications must be attached and e-mailed to POD@csrees.usda.gov, with “POD Reviewer Application” as the subject line. Applications are due by January 31, 2006.
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Longtime 4-H Participant Pens Team Building Book

Written by longtime 4-H participant Kris Bordessa, Team Challenges: Group Activities to Build Cooperation, Communication and Creativity (Zephyr Press) has recently been released. Designed to give youth group leaders a wide variety of activities to cultivate children's problem-solving skills, the book fosters cooperation between group members. The activities in the book utilize common household items and recycled materials and require no more than 10 minutes, start to finish.

Kris Bordessa is a freelance writer and book author and has been involved in the 4-H youth program for many years. A 4-H member beginning at nine-years-old all the way through high school, she is now a parent of two third generation 4-Hers. As an independent club, her family continues to work on community service and creative problem solving through the Destination Imagination project.

To check out the book or try out some of the activities in your 4-H group, click here.
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4-H Tech Wizards Featured on Intel Innovation Web Site

HILLSBORO, Ore.—Oregon’s 4-H Tech Wizards have once again been chosen as a feature story on the Intel Innovation Odyssey Web site. The site highlights stories of young people using technology in their lives and provides resources for learning.

The story features multiple Latino youth across Oregon who are making a difference in their communities with the help of technology. A group of young people who attend Hillsboro High School use their GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology to map out safe walking routes for pedestrians.

In Beaverton, a neighboring town, 4-H member Pedro uses what he has learned with his fellow Tech Wizards to teach Latino parents how to build low-cost computers to use in their homes.

To read the full story, click here.

4-H Tech Wizards is made possible through the generous support of many organizations and corporations including Intel, ORTOP, PGE Foundation, Intel Latino Network, ESRI, Centro Cultural, Hewlett-Packard, along with local and state organizations and clubs.

Check out the new Tech Wizards Web site at www.4-HTechWizards.org for more information or to learn how you can start a 4-H Tech Wizards club in your state.

Access to technology attracts participants to the 4-H Tech Wizards program.
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2006 ESRI GIS Grant Program Available for 4-H Clubs

ESRI announces two grant options for the ESRI GIS Grant Program, designed for U.S. 4-H in cooperation with National 4-H Headquarters, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES)/U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support its geospatial outreach, education and community involvement efforts. The goal of this program is to foster and support the integration of geographic information system (GIS) software in U.S. 4-H clubs.

Grant categories include an introductory software grant for 4-H clubs new to GIS and global positioning systems (GPS) and an intermediate software grant for those 4-H clubs that received previous ESRI 4-H software grants and completed the grant requirements.

Eligible Applicants: A U.S. 4-H community or in-school club, 4-H after-school program, 4-H special interest group, 4-H school enrichment group, 4-H camp, or similar 4-H unit that meets regularly and is recognized as an authorized 4-H group within its state’s 4-H program.

Application Period: January 1–March 31, 2006. For more information on how 4-H is using GIS technology and to download the 2006 ESRI 4-H Grant Guidelines, please visit: www.esri.com/4-H.
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Resources and Opportunities:

DoSomething.org Gears up for MLK Day

Every January, many people observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by pressing the snooze button on their alarm clocks a few more times. This year, join others to ring in the New Year with something different. Join DoSomething.org and Pepsi by taking the Kindness and Justice Challenge. This is a great way to honor a great leader the way he would have truly wanted – with service! With help from The National Civil Rights Museum, Hands on Network and Learning to Give, the Kindness and Justice Challenge challenges you to make MLK Day a day on, not a day off. For more information, visit www.dosomething.org.
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