Local club organizers using National 4-H Week to promote happenings in Whitley Co.

Cameron Wilson, 4-H Grand Champion winner in photography at the KY State Fair

As you may have already noticed by looking elsewhere in this week’s edition, this is National Newspaper Week. As it turns out, it is also National 4-H Week.

It’s safe to assume that most people reading this have heard of 4-H, but you may be surprised to learn what the organization is up to these days, including our local clubs right here in Whitley County.

Lisa Jones is the 4-H Youth Development Agent at the Whitley county Cooperative Extension. Having grown up in-and-around 4-H clubs and activities herself, she is happy to now be in a position to introduce the next generation of community leaders to the many opportunities that the organization has to offer.

“We touch on a lot of different topics in 4-H,” Jones said. “One of our mottos is ‘learn by doing,’ so there are a lot of hands-on activities. Another motto is to ‘make the best better,’ so no matter what we’re doing, we believe that we can always strive to be better.”

Jones and her assistant, Brittany Browning, along with local 4-H volunteers, help young people in Whitley County to explore and identify interests in seven core areas – Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Communication and Expressive Arts, Family and Consumer Sciences, Health and Wellbeing, Leadership, Natural Resources and Science Engineering and Technology.

Rachel Moses, blue ribbon winner for acrylic painting

“We want to open the door for kids to be able to gain opportunities and learn about things that might spark an interest in a career one day,” Jones explained. “Being a kid that grew up in 4-H myself, I know about how it can plant those seeds and help kids to figure out what they might want to do.”

The youngest age group that is currently meeting on a monthly basis at the Whitley County Extension Office in Goldbug is the “Cloverbud” group, which is made up of kids ages 5-8. There is also a “tween” club for ages 9-12, and a teen club for ages 13-18.

In addition to these groups, the local 4-H office is also offering a monthly sewing club and horse club for students fourth grade and up. Just this week, they have announced the addition of a brand new “MSD Ability” club that is being tailored to meet the specific needs of kids with moderate-to-sever disabilities.

Speaking specifically about the Cloverbuds group, Jones said, “We touch on a lot of topics in hopes of getting them involved in more specific clubs later on. The younger that they get started in 4-H, the more likely they are to stay involved throughout school. It gets harder to recruit kids at the middle school and high school ages, so we do like to try to recruit young kids when we are able.”

Jones explained that, in order to achieve that goal of increased participation in the younger age category, more local volunteers are sorely needed. “If people in the community have a passion for something, or have some kind of specialty, we can make it fit into 4-H somewhere and they can have a chance to lead a club,” she said. “4-H is totally volunteer-led, and without those volunteers we would not be able to do what we do.”

Jones encouraged those interested in learning more about how to potentially volunteer with 4-H to call the Cooperative Extension Office in Goldbug at (606) 549-1430, or e-mail her directly at Lisa.Jones@uky.edu.

Interested individuals can also visit whitley.ca.uky.edu in order to get information about 4-H and the many other offerings at the Whitley County Cooperative Extension in areas such as fine arts, horticulture, agriculture and more.

Another useful website is tinyurl.com/WCPACE, which offers information on all upcoming classes and events being offered by the Cooperative Extension Office.