When I visit my hometown I still see the trees that my class helped to plant along main street. To this day, more than twenty years later, I still point these trees out to my children. It is a reminder for me of where I come from and how I contributed to that particular community.
Service (whether community service or service learning) is powerful. All 4-H clubs should participate in giving back to others in some way, as it is good for the community, and more importantly good for the individual 4-H member. Sometimes it can be difficult to come up with meaningful ways to serve beyond the typical canned food drive. For ideas for your club, check out:
Ideas for Community Service Projects
Florida 4-H Month of Service and State Project– April is designated as National 4-H Month of Service, and clubs are encouraged to report their hours of service back to their State 4-H office as a way to calculate just how much good our young people are doing in their communities. In Florida, we also have a State Project, the focus of which changes on a bi-annual basis. Clubs which participate in this state project may receive recognition from the State 4-H Program. For 2018-2019, the Florida 4-H State Project is Project L.I.F.E. (Living in Florida’s Environment).
Florida 4-H Community Pride– Florida 4-H annually gives away mini-grants to 4-H clubs who conduct community-based service learning projects. This year’s deadline is December 14. Even clubs who do not receive a monetary grant may compete for recognition of their service project.