Woonsocket  — Every year, National 4-H Week sees millions of youth, parents, volunteers and alumni come together to celebrate the many positive youth development opportunities offered by 4-H. The theme for this year’s National 4-H Week, Opportunity4All, is a campaign that was created by the National 4-H Council to rally support for Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program and identify solutions to eliminate the opportunity gap that affects 55 million kids across America. 

With so many children struggling to reach their full potential, 4-H believes that young people, in partnership with adults, can play a key role in creating a more promising and equitable future for youth, families and communities across the country. In 4-H, we believe every child should have an equal opportunity to succeed. We believe every child should have the skills they need to make a difference in the world.  

Sanborn County 4-H is observing National 4-H Week this year by highlighting some of the inspirational 4-H youth in our community who work tirelessly to support each other and their communities.  

“We believe youth perspectives are so important and a solution to eliminating the opportunity gap, because young people come with new ideas and new ways of seeing the world,” explains Jennifer Sirangelo, President and CEO of the National 4-H Council. By encouraging diverse voices and innovative actions, 4-H believes that solutions can be found to address the educational, economic and health issues that have created the opportunity gap. 

On Monday, 4-Hers used the #opportunitytolearn, and 4-H members decorated around town. Be sure to check out the courthouse lawn, decorated by the Town ‘N Kountry Kids Blue Club. 

For Tuesday, #opportunitytogrow, 4-H members wore their 4-H t-shirts at school. Be sure to ask a member about their favorite part of 4-H! Woonsocket School 4-H members asked everyone to wear green for 4-H and passed out green candy treats.

On Wednesday, #opportunitytoserve, was our theme. We invited 4-H members young and old to do something special for someone else!

Thursday is spirit day, #opportunitytolead, 4-Hers will be sharing their talents with someone new. Be sure to read the letter to the editor column in your local newspaper to find out more about 4-H, and tune into KMIT to hear 4-H members talk about opportunities in 4-H.

Rounding out the week on Friday, #opportunitytosucceed, is a goal we want to see in all our youth. Share on social media and on posters what 4-H has done for you! 

“This year, we started a new program called Teen Leadership Academy,” said Audra Scheel, 4-H Youth Program Advisor, “It has been fun to see these youth step up and offer ideas and act on them. This is just one example of youth voice and how important it is in our communities!”

In Sanborn County, more than 150 4-H youth and 30 volunteers from the community are involved in 4-H. 4-H is for everyone! Often the public perception of 4-H is all about animals and State Fair, and while that is a small piece of opportunity available, 4-H offers so much more. With over 70 different project areas for youth to engage in, the sky is the limit!

One of the most anticipated events of National 4-H Week every year is the 4-H STEM Challenge, formerly known as National Youth Science Day. The theme of this year’s event, which is expected to see hundreds of thousands of youth across the nation taking part throughout October, is Mars Base Camp. Developed by Google and Virginia Cooperative Extension, Mars Base Camp is a collection of activities that teaches kids ages 8-14 STEM skills, including mechanical engineering, physics, computer science and agriculture. 

To learn more about how you can get involved, visit extension.sdstate.edu/south-dakota-4-h.

…See photos in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!