A campaign to honor the National 4-H Youth Conference Center
Volume XXVI Edition X |
October 2009 |
Fall Retreat Thanks!
I wanted to send a short note of thanks to each and every one of you for your participation in this year’s Fall Youth Staff Retreat. I feel that we had a terrific opportunity for far more interactivity than we’ve had in past years and that the flexibility the Beck Center afforded us helped make that possible. I hope you felt that the sessions presented were informational and will be of use to you. I appreciate the ideas many of you have already indicated you have taken home for implementation!
Biofuels Blast
We appreciate everyone’s attentiveness to conducting at least one Biofuels Blast experiment during the month of October! Please be certain to drop a note of appreciation to the Indiana Corn Marketing Council to thank them for their contribution of Biofuels Blast kits. The address is 5730 W 74 St., Indianapolis, IN 46278-1754.
The Biofuel Blast Experiment Results Survey & Quiz are now online for youth to enter their experiment results and showcase their knowledge. Thanks to generous support from John Deere, a $400 award will be presented to one county from each state (and one U.S. territory) with the highest number of individual Biofuel Blast results survey submissions before October 30th, 2009. The awards can be used toward the implementation and promotion of science, engineering and technology programs in your county. After youth complete the experiment, make sure they fill in in their results at www.4-H.org/NYSD so your county can compete for the award!
In addition, of those who submit their results through the Biofuel Blast experiment survey, five youth names will be randomly selected to receive a 32GB third generation iPod touch. The five youth will also be able to designate a 4-H club, school classroom, or youth organization to receive a Fuel Cell Car Experiment kit. Click here for official drawing rules.
Building Partnerships for Youth Website
Please find below a link to the Building Partnerships for Youth website that is a joint venture between National 4-H Council and the University of Arizona. This link will take you to several fact sheets regarding the elements of positive youth development. Included in each Fact Sheet are concrete tips and strategies for promoting positive youth development programming, links and more! Not only will you find helpful information for programs you are designing, but there is also excellent information that you could share with program volunteers and parents of 4-H members.
http://cals-cf.calsnet.arizona.edu/fcs/bpy/content.cfm?content=factsheet
Renée McKee, State 4-H Program Leader
ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS
$50 for 50th Anniversary Celebration!
A campaign to honor the National 4-H Youth Conference Center
Dear Colleagues –
When was your first visit to the 4-H Center? Did you come as a 4-H member to take a tour of our Nation’s Capital, visiting the many historical landmarks or meet leaders who represented your hometown? Or maybe was it more recently to attend a meeting where you stayed in a comfortable JCPenney room and dined at the Clover Café? Undoubtedly it was a trip of a lifetime. The National 4-H Youth Conference Center provides a similar experience for 30,000 youth each year. And it has been doing so for the past 50 years since the doors first opened!
Whether it was National 4-H Conference, NYLC, Citizenship Washington Focus, or another leadership program, the 4-H Center provided a safe, fun, and enriching environment for your time in Washington, D.C. And the work that you started while here certainly continued when you returned home – to change your club, your community, your country, and your world!
Now is your chance to honor the 4-H Center with a much deserved anniversary gift – meaningful support that will allow 4-H to provide incredible programs for the next 50 years. As a member of the 4-H community, whether you are a 4-H volunteer, staff or faculty member or partner, you embody the 4-H pledge. Will you make the same pledge to 4-H?
To show your support, please visit https://donate.4-h.org/5050.aspx
Should you have questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Jen McIver at jmciver@fourhcouncil.edu.
Thank You!
- Don Floyd, National 4-H Council
“4-H 101” Staff Development
The first program of the “4-H 101” staff development series will begin on October 15, 2009. Each of the six programs in this series will be offered via Adobe Connect and will provide information regarding the basics of the 4-H program that can be used for personal knowledge or to share with volunteers and others in the 4-H program. NOTE: this is an update of the series that was last offered in 2005-2006.
Prior to each session, the PowerPoint presentation used in the session will be posted to the U: drive under the State YDAE/4-H 101 file folder. A link to the Adobe session will be e-mailed prior to the session to enable you to connect. During the session, questions may be sent to the presenters via the chat box.
Each session will be recorded and posted to the State 4-H Web site for later viewing.
Listed below are the programs, the dates offered, and the Adobe Connect Web link.
Each session is held from 10 a.m. – 12 noon (ET).
If you did not enroll for this series via the Extension Staff Development Web site earlier this year and would like to do so, please contact your District Office.
- Steve McKinley
Operation: Military Kids (OMK)
Ideas for Holiday Service Projects
Some particularly popular OMK activities during the 2008 Holiday season included organizing community events honoring military families, using the Mobile Technology Lab, and filling Hero Packs. If you know of local volunteer groups that might be interested in one of these service projects this year, please contact Judy Hauser (jhauser@purdue.edu) or Steve McKinley (mckinles@purdue.edu.) for additional information and/or go to the OMK Web site at www.four-h.purdue.edu/omk/
The Indiana OMK annual grant proposal has again been approved, so funds will continue to be available to support program activities in the following ways:
OMK can provide materials and financial resources but cannot organize and implement all of these activities without the dedication and hard work of hundreds of local volunteers such as 4-H members, Junior Leaders, Scouts, Extension Homemakers, classroom students and teachers, church groups, and community organizations. Thanks to all of these volunteers, OMK has been showing community support for our military children and their families since 2005 and hope to continue to do so again this year. Please let Judy or Steve know of any local community groups who would like to assist with an OMK event or activity.
Babysitting Training Opportunities
Two babysitting classes have been scheduled from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. on October 24, 2009, at the following locations:
Evansville:
American Red Cross of Southwestern Indiana Chapter
29 S. Stockwell Road
Evansville, IN
Fort Wayne:
American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana
1212 E. California Road
Ft. Wayne, IN
The training will include CPR and First Aid training as well as safety and child development information. Military and non-military youth and adults are welcome to participate at no cost. Reservations, however, will be necessary and can be made by contacting Judy Hauser at jhauser@purdue.edu or Monique Spells at monique.spells@us.army.mil.
LINN Training
Living in the New Normal (LINN) training will be offered on October 22 & 23, 2009 in Indianapolis. For additional information contact Judy Hauser at jhauser@purdue.edu.
Guard Reserve Institute Training
The Guard and Reserve Institute Training is scheduled for November 18 & 19, 2009 at the Sheraton Indianapolis City Center in Indianapolis. There is no cost but registrations are needed by November 6, 2009. The training will help educators and other professionals to support children and families of the National Guard and Reserve. For an application or additional information, contact Judy Hauser at jhauser@purdue.edu.
- Judy Hauser and Steve McKinley
Collegiate 4-H Judges List
A list of Collegiate 4-H members who have indicated an interest in serving as 4-H Project judges in the coming year is available here. Feel free to contact them if you have a need for additional judges. Please note that this list is not an endorsement of any of these individual’s qualifications.
- Steve McKinley
Project curriculum and resources
Shooting Sports Education
It is recommended that the Extension Office keep an inventory of all the equipment that the 4-H Shooting Sports club or 4-H Council owns. The inventory should include: firearm make, model, serial number, when purchased, who purchased, who has possession. An inventory template is available here.
If equipment is stored at a volunteer’s home, we recommend you have a signed letter attached to the equipment inventory indicating the name and address of the volunteer who has possession of the equipment between meetings. The letter should also indicate that the volunteer’s insurance company is aware that the firearms are stored at his/her property.
The inventory and letter will help you keep track of the equipment (sometimes of significant value) and clarify that it belongs to the 4-H Shooting Sports program.
- Natalie Carroll
VOLUNTEER DEVELOPMENT
Volunteer Recognition: Salute to Excellence 2010
Salute to Excellence is a national volunteer recognition program. Each state or territory can nominate two volunteers, one in each of two categories: Volunteer of the Year (less than 10 years of service) and Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer (10 or more years of service). The regional awardees receive a plaque and a cash award to be given to any local 4-H program that they wish. They also receive a travel stipend to pay a portion of travel to their regional leader forum at which they will be recognized. The national awardees will receive a special gift and a cash award to be given to the local 4-H program of their choice and a trip to Washington, D.C. for the 4-H Hall of Fame Ceremony in October, 2010.
The nomination form for the 2010 Salute to Excellence awards is available here. Please consider submitting a nomination for one or both of these awards to the State 4-H Office. Each application must be accompanied by 3 letters of recommendation addressing the points listed under the selection criteria on the nomination form. Please submit letters and applications electronically (Word format preferred).
Nominations received by December 1, 2009 at the State 4-H Office will be considered to represent Indiana in the regional competition for the 2010 awards.
- Steve McKinley
4-H Volunteer Vision
The October “4-H Volunteer Vision” is available here for your use with volunteers.
- Steve McKinley
VolunteerIN…4-H Toolkit for Success
Lesson plans for the fourth and final year of the “VolunteerIN…4-H Toolkit for Success” are being prepared by the 4-H Volunteer Development Committee. This series, based on the Essential Elements of 4-H Youth Development, will focus this year on the Generosity concept. To begin the fourth year of the materials, an IP Video program will be held on Tuesday, January 26 and on Tuesday, March 2 (the same program will be offered on each date). Each program will be held from 7:30-9 p.m. Eastern Time (6:30-8 p.m. Central Time).
IP Video sites may be enrolled by visiting: http://1144sms/ipevents/. Look for programs #1721 (Jan 26) and #1722 (Mar 2). Please begin to promote these opportunities to your volunteers. Once the specific lesson for the IP Video program is identified, we will share that information with you. Final lesson plans will be distributed to county offices on a CD in early January, 2010.
- Steve McKinley
Everyone Ready® Volunteer Management Staff Development
Purdue Extension staff members are invited to participate in Everyone Ready®, a new online volunteer management training program.
National 4-H Council, through a grant from Monsanto, is making the Everyone Ready® program available nationwide to all Extension staff who work with volunteers, regardless of program area or title (not just those who work with 4-H volunteers). There is no cost to states or individuals.
Purdue Extension staff members may register at any time to participate in Everyone Ready® at: http://4-h.org/resources/volunteerism.html.
Each month a new volunteerism topic is introduced – either as an Online Seminar or as a Self-Instruction Guide. Sessions are designed to last approximately one hour each. New topics are introduced on the third Monday of each month but will be archived for Extension use for the 3 years of the grant. The current online seminar is titled, “Building the Foundation for Volunteer Involvement.”
Beginning September 21, Extension staff were granted access to e-Volunteerism: The Electronic Journal of the Volunteer Community and can now purchase volunteer management resources from the Energize online bookstore with a 20% discount.
- Steve McKinley
“What Every 4-H Leader Should Know”
"What Every 4-H Leader Should Know" is designed for 4-H Volunteers who are working with members in a club-based setting and for Extension Educators who are responsible for working with 4-H Volunteers. This program provides basic information that will enable 4-H Volunteers to facilitate an inclusive, engaging club program that meets the needs of the youth.
This program will be offered via Adobe Connect on Thursday, December 3, from 7:30-9 p.m. A recording of the program will be available on the State 4-H Web site upon its conclusion. The Adobe Connect Web link for this program is: https://gomeet.itap.purdue.edu/leader4h/.
Promotional materials for this program will be available in the next few weeks to help counties share this information with their volunteers.
- Carl Broady and Steve McKinley
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
“Prudential Spirit of Communities” Awards
Counties may nominate 4-H participants who demonstrate outstanding volunteer community service for the 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community Award. This award recognizes students in grades 5-12 on the basis of their volunteer activities. Last year, 132 county 4-H programs selected honorees in this prestigious youth recognition program, and 89 4-H members received state-level awards. This recognition is beneficial to individual 4-H participants who have performed exemplary acts of service in their communities and to 4-H as a whole.
4-H participants can apply online at: http://spirit.prudential.com. Applications must be completed, printed, signed, and submitted to the County Extension Educator by November 2. The County 4-H program may select one middle level local honoree for every 1,000 members in grades 5-8 and one high school local honoree for every 1,000 members in grades 9-12.
Counties have until November 9, 2009 to certify their local honoree applications for state competition.
Questions regarding this award process may be answered toll-free, at 877-525-8491.
- Steve McKinley