4-H Youth Development
Family Nutrition Program
Hungry or undernourished children have difficulty resisting infection, and are more likely than other children to become sick, miss school, and fall behind in class; they are irritable and have difficulty concentrating, which can interfere with learning; they have low energy, which can limit their physical activity. Programs provide low-income youth with one year of basic food, nutrition and diet-related disease-prevention lessons, hands-on food preparation skills, and take-home information to share with their families. Program Assistants target elementary, middle and high school youth.
Urban Gardening
The youth of Virginia benefit from horticulture as an interdisciplinary teaching tool that provides them with a sense of accomplishment and responsibility while teaching them science, math and writing. A survey of Virginia teachers found that 78% currently use or would like to use horticulture as a tool to increase hands-on learning across the curriculum. The 4-H Urban In school Container Gardening Program targets the 3rd, 4th and 5th Richmond Public School grades specifically tailored to the Standards of Learning requirements of the State of VA.
Character Education
Far too many youth are not learning or practicing basic standards of good character in America. Unacceptably high numbers of young people steal, lie and cheat on the job, in school and in personal relationships. “Character Counts!” is a framework designed to meet and address the challenges that our youth face today with their character development. “Character Counts!” is an approach that translates six pillars of character (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship) into practical ground-rules for everyday living. Surveys of school administrators have shown decreases in problematic behaviors during school hours after implementing the program.
4-H Junior Camp
4-H Junior Camp provides youth ages 5-18 the opportunity to be engaged in positive relationships with caring teens and adult 4-H volunteers. These volunteers are trained to provide emotional and moral support to youth campers. 4-H camping emphasizes experiential, hands-on learning (“learn by doing”). Instructors are trained to actively involve youth in their learning experiences, and staff/camper ratios of 1:8 (or less) provide youth with individualized attention. Citizenship is taught and practiced at 4-H camp. Youth campers have individual and group responsibilities that teaches them to take care of themselves and to contribute to the benefit of the camp community by helping others. Youth are afforded multiple opportunities to make choices and decisions about their educational experiences, from selecting 4-H camp classes to involvement in afternoon and evening activities. 4-H camping exposes youth to new people, new places, and new ideas. At 4-H camp, youth involved in unique educational experiences with other youth from different parts of Virginia. Through 4-H camping, youth are able to discover talents and strengths that give them encouragement and hope for future success.