Focus on Youth
News for OCES staff working with youth.
October/November, 2010
4-H is a community of young people across America learning leadership, citizenship and life skills.
Table of Contents
Dear Educators and Volunteers,
The trees are beginning to look like fall is near, but the warm weather seems more like spring. Of course spring weather in Oklahoma normally means tornado time, and today we had an earthquake, so I hope this will not be a new sign of fall!
This is a jumping time on campus with Homecoming next week. The collegiate 4-H members and Leadership League have been working hard on decorations for various contests. They are also busy planning a regional conference they will host in November here on campus.
We are also looking forward to meeting with the county support staff soon when they visit campus. At that time we hope to be able to provide some more concrete timelines for the Access 4-H Enrollment transition. We had about 25 counties volunteer to be in the first wave of pilot sites, so this has created a little more work than we had expected in getting things ready so all those can transition at one time.
Thanks also to the 40 who submitted data about how you handle 4-H funds. This will be helpful to us in deciding some future directions in the absence of a federal group exemption number for 4-H. We will keep you posted.
Charles Cox
Assistant Director, 4-H Youth Development
Lights On Afterschool
Registration is open for the 11th annual Lights On Afterschool - October 21, 2010! Sign up your afterschool program for the nation's biggest afterschool celebration. The Empire State Building has announced it again will light up in yellow in honor of Lights On Afterschool! Take part by opening your doors to show off what is happening after school. Register now and you could win cool giveaways from FEIT ELECTRIC. You will also get free posters and event tips and updates. The online toolkit makes it easy to plan an event, from a talent show to a large rally. Materials can be found by visiting the Lights On Afterschool website. Last year, 1 million Americans celebrated Lights On Afterschool, from New Hampshire to New Mexico. Times are hard, and families and communities have to do more with much less. Afterschool support is more important now than ever. Let’s show the country what can - and should - happen after school.
Application for Trip Chaperone
Attached is the form to be completed by educators and/or volunteers who are interested in chaperoning an upcoming 4-H out-of-state trip. All applications must be sent through both the county and the district offices.
4-H Cloverleaf Newsletter – Fourth Quarter Issue Available
The May - July issue is now online. The newsletter will be published electronically each quarter—December, March, June and September. It can be downloaded or read from the state 4-H web page. Why the Cloverleaf? Because just like the arrangement of highways resembling a four-leaf clover, 4-H has entrance and exit ramps enabling our members to change direction rapidly and smoothly. Each quarter a different topic will be featured, new projects and programs introduced and new resources shared. The reporters will be Oklahoma 4-H members who are serving as club, county and district reporters, as well as representatives of the State 4-H Leadership Council. Cluster Representatives will work with county reports in collecting news.
Chris Maxcey, State Reporter
Be a CWF Program Assistant
National 4-H Council is looking for qualified youth, ages 18-25, to apply to be program assistants at the upcoming CWF session next summer. Program assistants get paid and live on the campus of the National 4-H Youth Conference Center while spending some quality time in our nation's capital. They become licensed Washington, DC, tour guides and facilitate the program's educational workshops. If you have or have had youth in your program who might be interested and would make good program assistants, I encourage you to forward them the following link http://www.citizenshipwashingtonfocus.org/programassistant.aspx. The deadline is January 18, 2011.
Denver Western Roundup
Registration information for the 2011 Denver Western Roundup conference can be found on the 4-H webpage at http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/events/denver.htm The 2011 conference is January 5-9. Registration materials and payment are due in the State 4-H Office by November 5, 2010. If you have questions or need additional information, please let me know.
Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF)
This year marks the 52nd anniversary of CWF. Youth, ages 15-19, will learn about the history and culture of our nation while having fun and meeting new people from across the country. Information regarding the Oklahoma upcoming trip can be found on the 4-H website at http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/events/cwf.htm This year's Oklahoma group will be traveling and attending June 16-26, 2011. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the State 4-H Office.
2011 National Extension Conference on Volunteerism
"Recruit,
Ready, Retain"
April 18-21, 2011
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Key Dates:
- Deadline for Submitting Proposals: October 29, 2010
- Notification of Accepted Proposals: December 1, 2010
- Confirmation of Acceptance: December 15, 2010
- Registration Information available: January 18, 2011
- Early Bird Registration Due: Feb 18, 2011
- Registration Deadline: March 18, 2011
Purpose:
- opportunity for sharing and learning the latest research and trends in volunteerism
- gain innovative ideas for reaching new volunteers, investigating best practices for developing and retaining current volunteers
- strengthen volunteer management efforts
- gather tools and skills through interactive sessions and networking with colleagues
- develop plans to utilize new resources
Intended Audience:
- National, state, regional and county professional Extension staff from all Extension programs interested in building the capacity of volunteers into program efforts and creating an effective volunteer delivery system within their programs.
Website
- http://www.4h.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=119530
- Includes workshop proposal forms and conference information
Get Ready for TSC Paper Clover Promotion in November
Thanks to everyone for the great feedback and participation with the Tractor Supply Company (TSC) Paper Clover webinars. There are now more Paper Clover promotional materials available in the TSC/Del's Promotional Toolkit on 4-H.org at http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/promotional-toolkits/detail/default.aspx?id=2011. Please continue to check this toolkit regularly as more items will be coming soon.
Thanks for all the hard work and preparation you are doing to make Paper Clover a big success!
Julie Conn
Retail Partnerships
National 4-H Council
2010 American Farmers & Ranchers Speech Contests: "I Believe in Oklahoma Agriculture"
This popular event is held in the fall each year and is available to members and non-members. Students in grades 4-12 compete in their respective categories at district contests held around the state. First and second place winners in each of the categories advance to the State Speech Contest held in Stillwater on the campus of Oklahoma State University. While competing in the contest, the top three category winners in each of the four divisions receive plaques and special recognition. Each contestant receives a certificate of participation. First, second and third place state contest winners receive plaques and U.S. Savings Bonds. For more information on dates, guidelines and locations please click here.
4-H Food Showdown In-service
The Oklahoma 4-H and FCS programs are pleased to announce the 4-H Food Showdown as an official Roundup contest in 2011. The December in-service will allow educators and volunteers a hands-on opportunity to experience a 4-H Food Showdown, while gaining an understanding of the responsibilities of the contest coordinator/volunteer and reviewing the contest guidelines and resources.
In-service ID: 14658
Thursday, December 2, 2010
9:30 am - 4 pm
Logan County Fairgrounds
1201 S Division St
Guthrie, OK
Please register on the in-service site.
Basketball Game Day
The 4-H Basketball Game Day for an OSU Men's Basketball game will December 11 against Missouri State. For this game we will once again just be arranging for you to buy discounted group tickets through Ticketmaster. Watch for details on the website very soon. We will also have a special game with the Cowgirls, and that information will also be provided soon.
Farewell and Best Wishes to Cathy Shuffield
After three years Cathy will be leaving the Oklahoma 4-H Foundation in early November. She will be spending some time caring for her mother, who recently had surgery, and she also plans to do some traveling with family and friends before seeing what adventures she wishes to undertake next.
Over the past three years, the 4-H Foundation Board and staff have tackled major, time-consuming challenges that our previous Boards and staff had never faced. These challenges have involved the IRS (getting a non-profit status determination and meeting many more reporting requirements for better governance, transparency and accountability), auditor requirements, and numerous other legal and financial issues stemming from changes in state laws and the impact of the great recession on investments.
During that time revenues to the 4-H Foundation more than doubled in 2009 over the previous year. The number of donors supporting 4-H increased by 32 percent in 2009 over the previous year. Six new endowments were established at the 4-H Foundation; the size of an existing endowment doubled; funding of four existing endowments was completed, and several new annual scholarship donors were added. We established a 4-H Centennial Professorship endowment at the OSU Foundation, and more OSU Foundation scholarship endowments for 4-H'ers are in progress. There were also increases in the number of donors using corporate matching gift programs. Programs were started or expanded as a result of gifts at higher giving levels, including 5-figure gifts from funding partners like Chesapeake Energy, Bank of America, OGE Energy, Adobe Software, and Walmart Foundation.
We wish Cathy the very best as she continues to provide volunteer and contractual services for groups in the future, and we will miss her contributions to 4-H.
National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week
November 7-13, 2010, is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, and is a great time to get your 4-H club involved in helping out your local animal shelter. Animal shelters provide a great service to our communities by providing care and working to find new homes for abandoned pets. In addition, animal shelter employees spend many hours working to educate their communities about responsible pet ownership. Here are a few ideas for celebrating National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week.
Start by saying thank you. Drop a thank you note in the mail or send an email to the staff of your local animal shelter. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining how important the shelter is to your community. Bake some cookies for the workers and dog treats for the dogs and go say thank you in person.
Make a donation to your shelter. Common items needed by shelters include cleaning supplies, pet beds, old towels, pet food and money. They also need people to donate their time and skills. They need help washing animals, washing laundry, washing kennels, walking dogs, playing with the cats and answering the phone. Check with your local shelter about their specific needs and age requirements for volunteers.
You can also support your shelter by being involved with community education. Educate your community on the importance of spaying and neutering pets. Remember that one female dog and one male dog and their offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in six years. It is estimated that over 60 percent of pets become unwanted and will be abandoned or end up in pounds. If your community doesn't already have a low cost spay/neuter program for families with limited income, encourage them to look into the possibility of developing a network with other agencies and vet clinics to offer low cost spay/neuter clinics. More information about low-income spay/neuter programs is available at http://okspaynetwork.org.
Make a display or give a presentation on how to protect pets during a disaster. Each year thousands of pets are lost during emergencies such as wildfires, tornadoes and floods. By being prepared pet owners are less likely to be separated from their pets. For more information on pet preparedness go to Oklahoma 4-H Literature Online at http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/litol/ and read the companion animal sheet 4-H Pet Preparedness SMAN-501.
Consider adopting or fostering a pet from the shelter. Adopting a pet is a great way to offer an animal a second chance at having a caring family while providing you a loyal companion. If you are unable to adopt a pet you might try fostering a pet. Fostering a pet allows you to provide a caring home until the animal is placed while making room at the shelter for another homeless pet.
Each year over 5 million companion animals are euthanized in the United States. Animal shelters provide a valuable service by rescuing and placing many of these animals in caring homes. The only wrong way to celebrate National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week is by doing nothing at all.
4-H Zoo Snooze
Mark your calendars for the night of April 15, 2011, as we will be offering another OKC Zoo Snooze opportunity for 4-H members. 4-H members are invited to come spend the night at the OKC Zoo and learn about ZOOTASTIC CAREERS. Later that night they will venture outdoors for a night hike through the zoo. The hike will be followed up by 4-H activities. In the morning we will slip out for an early tour while the animals are up and having breakfast. The rest of the day is yours to spend at the zoo. Make plans today. It's sure to be a wild time! Registration is available online at http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/events/animal.htm. Registration is limited and will be on a first come/first serve basis.
Introducing 4-H Youth to the World of Sporting Dogs
Mark your calendars now for the 4-H Sporting Dog Workshop to be held in Stillwater on April 2, 2011, from 9 am - 3 pm. This workshop will provide introductory information regarding bird dogs for youth and volunteers participating in the 4-H program. The interested youth will learn about types and breeds of sporting dogs, basic obedience and commands, proper use of training devices and basic husbandry in the field and at home.
Instructors for the workshop include Dr. Chris Richards, who will be providing an overview of water fowl retrieval. Dr. Dwayne Elmore will provide an overview of upland game bird pointing and retrieval. Dr. Kevin Allen and Steve Beck will be provide programming on "Retrieving Positive Youth Development from a 4-H Youth Sporting Dog Program."
Registration is required and is limited to the first 50 4-H members, along with their volunteer leaders. More details on cost and registration to come in the near future. For more information contact Steve Beck steve.beck@okstate.edu or Kevin Allen kevin.allen@okstate.edu.
4-H Pet Fun Day
The first ever Oklahoma 4-H Pet Fun Day has been tentatively scheduled for February 5, 2011. The Amazing Small Animal Program (ASAP) teen leaders are preparing a day of games, workshops and contests for 4-H members to participate in with their small animal projects. Ideas they are currently working on include dog obedience workshops, herding dog displays, service dog demonstrations and numerous contests. The event is open to 4-H Members with almost any kind of pet. Pets will be judged on such criteria as the most unusual, the prettiest, best trick and much more.
So fluff up those bunnies, wax your turtles, exercise your hamsters and check out next month's Focus for more details.
New Special Award for County Communication Contests
Starting this year the category Water Conservation, Protection and Utilization has been added to the list of 4-H Communication Event Awards that are available to each county (e.g., Peanut, Dairy, Breads). The award is being sponsored by the Oklahoma Water Resource Board, and we hope this will help increase the interest in this category at State 4-H Roundup in 2011.
Only one award is available per county, so each county will need to determine across age groups and divisions (Speech, Ill Presentation, PowerPoint) who the overall top presenter is from your county. This award will be available for your Achievement Banquets with your county medal orders this summer.
Keep in mind when promoting this category, the top three Water Conservation, Protection and Utilization Speeches, Ill Presentations and PowerPoints at Roundup will receive a plaque and $200 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place. Also make sure to give OWRB proper credit for sponsoring these awards.
State 4-H Leadership Council 2010-2011 Service Project
Flyers and labels for all programs can be downloaded at http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/leadership/project.html
Change for Change - Update
Every piece of
change counts! It's simple. CHANGE the life of an
individual, organization or community by collecting loose change at
meetings, events and activities. As a club, choose a local,
county or state charity of your choice. Campaign for the Oklahoma Children's
Hospital Foundation began July 30th.
Change will be collected every three months - 11/1/10,
2/1/10, 5/1/10 and 6/1/10. Please send a check payable to the Oklahoma
4-H Foundation and write Change for Change – (county) on
the memo line.
Funds Raised at State Events to date:
OKC Fair $83.00
Tulsa Fair $123.35
State 4-H Roundup $652.53
Total $858.88
Looking forward to the November collections sent by counties.
4-H - Making a Difference, ONE Project at a Time
Each club is encouraged to plan a new or innovative service-learning project during our Year of Service. The project could be for an individual, school, organization or community.
It's as simple as 1,2, 3.
- Determine a need.
- Learn about the need and what the club can do to meet the need or some portion of the need. Learn the skills or acquire the knowledge necessary to plan and complete the service.
- Plan and complete the project.
Celebrate by sharing the story. Using pictures, share the experience through a PowerPoint, MovieMaker, Video Production, Smilebox, etc.
A Service-Learning Action Plan, (SLAP Guide) will take you through the
process step by step and provide a way to record plans. Or invite
your Cluster Representative to present a traveling workshop during the
fall of 2010 for volunteers and youth. The workshop will provide
an overview of the program and time for Q&A.
As a county we encourage "A Day of Service" for
a county project. This program could be coordinated by county officers,
teen leaders or ambassadors.
The council will recognize each club and county with a certificate upon
receiving the completed SLAP guide and story on or before June 1, 2011.
Oklahoma Military Kids
Oklahoma 4-H has been gracious, so we have plenty of donations for OMK Hero Packs. Please focus on Family Night packages or one of our other two worthy programs until further notice.
Ashlan Wilson and Mandy Schroeder
Chair and Chair Elect
Council Service Committee