Youth Development / 4-H
The 4-H Pledge
I pledge my Head to clearer thinking,
My Heart to greater loyalty,
My Hands to larger service,
And my Health to better living,
For my club, my community, my country, and my world.
Mission
4-H develops youth between the ages 5-19 through hands-on learning and community service. With almost 1265 members, 4-H is the largest youth serving organization in Benton and Franklin Counties outside the public school system. 4-H is a collaboration between the Benton and Franklin Counties, Washington State University, and over 335 local adult volunteer 4-H Leaders.
Clubs usually meet regularly for a special purpose, such as learning about a specific subject (animal, plant, environmental, expressive arts, family living or social sciences), presenting a demonstration or taking part in a field trip. The size of the group varies greatly, depending on the need and available volunteer leaders. Club meetings with an adult volunteer trained in the essential elements of youth develpment ensure a positive environment in which youth grow and learn together.
Demonstrations, guest speakers, special tours or "learn-by-doing" activities can be the educational part. Project groups focus on specific subjects-- technology, animal husbandry, home arts, expressive arts, leadership, nature and sports. are examples. In addition, members may plan and carry out community service activities and entertaining events for themselves and their families.
Fequently Asked Questions
What is 4-H?
4-H is a community of more than 6.5 million young people across America learning leadership, citizenship and life skills.
The 4-H community also includes 3,500 staff, 538,000 volunteers and 60 million alumni. 4-Hers participate in fun, hands on learning activities supported by the latest research of land-grant universities that are focused on three areas: healthy living, citizenship, and science, engineering and technology. Youth can experience 4-H by becoming a member of a 4-H club, attending a 4-H camp, or joining school-based or after-school 4-H programs. 4-Hers can compete with their projects in contests at the local, state, regional or national levels and also attend conferences and events.
What do the four H's in 4-H stand for?
Head,H eart, Hands, and Health are the four H's in 4-H, and they are the four values members work on through fun and engaging programs.
Head - Managing, Thinking
Heart - Relating, Caring
Hands - Giving, Working
Health - Being, Living
What do 4-H clubs do?
It's entirely up to 4-H members what their 4-H club does! 4-H clubs usually focus on one or more topics of the members' choice. They conduct project-related activities, for example, a gardening club may have a year round garden or a technology club may work on Web design at meetings. 4-H clubs also do lots of community service both in their project area and where they are needed.
How old do you have to be to join?
Membership in 4-H is open to youth in kindergarten through those in the 12th grade. Washington State Program Policy will give you more detailed information. Publication EM0758E can be found at http://pubs.wsu.edu/cgi-bin/pubs/index.html)
Join 4-H Today!
Secondary content using h2 tag.
Life is good at WSU.
Secondary content can be almost anything. If you are not using this region delete all the content that is in between the div tags with the id ="additional".
A unique richness of students, faculty, location, activities, and organizations creates a full, lively student life at the University. This section gives you the insider's view on student life and a sampling of the opportunities here.
"Glimpses." Students talk about life at WSU