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Youth-led 4-H project to impact community health
The California 4-H Youth Development Program awarded six counties with $1,000 grants to implement healthy living projects within their communities. The grant proposals were written by 4-H teens, and successful projects may involve 4-H members as young as 5 years old.
The Ventura County 4-H All Stars, youth leaders within the California 4-H YDP, received funds to build a walking trail at Ormond Beach, south of Hueneme Road in Oxnard. Ormond Beach is the largest continuous wetland in California and is an EPA superfund site — a former hazardous waste site that has undergone extensive clean-up in order to be re-established for safe and productive use.
In addition to providing a safe place for physical activity and observing nature, the trail will feature educational displays highlighting information about bird species and ideas for including flexibility and strength development in daily exercise. “We want to relate the featured exercises to the movements of the diverse birds that live in the wetlands. For example, the blue heron stands on one leg. When visitors learn about the Blue Heron, they will also stand on one leg, strengthening their abdominal muscles and improving their balance,” said Dayle Morris, one of the 4-H members leading the project. The Ventura County 4-H members hope to inspire others in their community to get active and practice healthy habits.
Ventura County 4-H also will be partnering the City of Oxnard and the Ventura County Master Gardener Program to make their dream a reality. The new walking trail will be used by a variety of nature-loving visitors, including children participating in the Ormond Wetlands Outdoor Classroom Program. The trail will open to the public in November.
"We commend the 2011 4-H Healthy Living Grant recipients for their creative solutions to solve real health needs in their communities. 4-H youth are the catalyst for a living, breathing, culture-changing revolution for doing the right thing, breaking through obstacles, and pushing our country forward by making a measurable difference right where they live,” said Sharon Junge, director of the California 4-H YDP. This is the first year 4-H has offered Healthy Living Grants.
The 4-H Healthy Living Grant Program supports youth-directed healthy living projects that address physical, social or emotional health needs in California communities. Current 4-H members are encouraged to apply for funding, lead a project and partner with one or more adults throughout the process. The proposed healthy living project must be implemented with a focus on service-learning, leadership or youth-adult partnerships. Applications are due January 15 annually. Visit http://www.ca4h.org/Projects/HealthyL... for more details.
This story is contributed by a member of the Ventura community and is neither endorsed nor affiliated with Ventura County Star
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Asks Gathering of 4-H Youth to Commit to Public Service, Reach Out to At-Risk Peers
“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.” This is the pledge that 300 4-H youth and volunteers gave on Monday when the 2011 National 4-H Conference kicked off in Bethesda, Md. Youth and adults from 47 states and territories, as well a delegation from Canada, took part in an event that has happened in the Washington area since the 1920s, when 4-Hers slept in tents on the Washington Mall in front of the USDA headquarters. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, is the parent organization to 4-H National Headquarters. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke to 4-Hers about community service, valuing education, and embracing positive health and nutrition habits.
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| U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke with approximately 300 youth from 47 states or territories and Canada at the National 4-H Conference on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 in Washington, DC. The conference is the premier youth development opportunity of the USDA. Aged between 15-19 years old the attendees were selected by various means by their states to be delegates to the conference. The Secretaries then took questions from the audience. Secretary Vilsack received questions on topics such as land grants, what is an average day for him, and both talked of their goals to have 1,000 new farmers and 1,000 new educators. USDA photo by Lance Cheung. |
In one of the most moving parts of this remarks, Secretary Vilsack asked 4-H youth to reach out to their friends, family and peers in their communities if they are at risk of dropping out of school. He shared his personal story about when he answered the call to public service. It was the 1980s, he said, and he was working to help raise funds to build an athletic complex in his small Iowa town. The experience led him to join the city council, which led to his eventual election as mayor, Iowa State Senator, Governor of Iowa and, eventually, his appointment by President Obama to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
The Secretary asked the 4-Hers to use their pledge of head, heart, hands, and health to help guide them to success. The heart, said Vilsack, represents a commitment to the voice of youth, and he encouraged kids to hold a youth roundtable – register here – about issues that are important to them and their communities. Health, he said, represents a commitment to healthier living. 4-Hers are already taking steps towards better health through programs like the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award challenge. The Presidential Active Lifestyle Award recognizes those who log their recommended physical activity for six consecutive weeks, five days a week (60 minutes for kids, 30 minutes for adults).
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| Jessica Mullin (standing) asked U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack during the National 4-H Conference on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 in Washington, DC. Her question was how America will keep up with future demands. The conference is the premier youth development opportunity of the USDA. Aged between 15-19 years old the attendees were selected by various means by their states to be delegates to the conference. USDA photo by Lance Cheung. |
4-H initially committed to this goal during the November 29, 2010, roll-out of the Let’s Move! Faith and Communities Initiative led by First Lady Michelle Obama. Let’s Move! is the First Lady’s initiative to solve the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation. Let’s Move! Faith and Communities is designed to support local efforts and highlight accomplishments in communities across the country. The program looks to work with community leaders, learn from what they are doing in neighborhoods, and share those efforts as broadly as possible.
While at the conference, 4-H youth leaders will learn about mobilizing social change for issues that affect them, from bullying to environmental conservation, and will visit with federal officials where they will make presentations on these issues.
Woodland Montessori students awarded $2,000 in grants to help classmates eat more fruit
Created: 03/22/2012 08:03:05 AM PDT
Woodland Montessori elementary students have been awarded $2,000 in grants to help their fellow classmates eat more fruit.
They won a $1,000 UnitedHealth HEROES Grant from Youth Service America and UnitedHealth Group and $1,000 from California 4-H Revolution of Responsibility, according to a news release from Marcel Horowitz with UC Cooperative Extension.
This project teaches their classmates how to eat healthier by adding more fruit to their school day. The funding provides weekly deliveries of fresh organic fruit to the children's school, where students can snack on apples, oranges, pears and mangos when they get hungry.
"These grants were extremely competitive, and this project exemplifies service-learning and the UnitedHealth HEROES program," said Steve Culbertson, president and CEO of Youth Service America. "Young people in Woodland want to make a difference, and UnitedHealth Group, in conjunction with YSA, offers them resources to make a positive, measurable impact on their community."
The second grant was awarded by the California 4-H program. 4-H is the nation's largest youth development program, helping children learn leadership, citizenship and life skills.
"Improving the health of children is a priority for 4-H, and this youth-directed community service project is a wonderful way to do it. The awardees learn new skills while addressing community needs," said Horowitz, 4-H youth development and nutrition advisor from the UC Cooperative Extension.
These children identified the problem, wrote the grants and are managing the budgets and implementing the project. They have developed and conducted evaluations. Their research shows that the number of students snacking on fruit during the school day has increased by 86 percent.
