Are you interested in 4-H programs which help develop important life skills like leadership, responsibility, self-esteem, communication, critical thinking and good citizenship for youth?
Butler County 4-H Specialist Brad Coleman said, “All youth ages 5-18 in Butler County are eligible to join. Maybe you want to learn more about 4-H, which is more than a club. 4-H is young people preparing to be leaders of today and tomorrow by working with adult volunteers in project areas of their choice. We want you to be a part of our Butler County 4-H Clubs.”
There are clubs at Neelyville, Twin Rivers and a newly organized group at Poplar Bluff.
The Neelyville 4-H Club will hold an open house at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Independence Baptist Church in Neelyville. There will be free food, fun and games for all youth who attend.
If you would like to attend the newly-formed Poplar Bluff 4-H Club, the next club meeting is at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum.
The Poplar Bluff club will have an open house/informational meeting from noon through 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church Saturday, Oct. 22.
For those in the Twin Rivers area, the Royal Raiders 4-H Club will meet at a date to be determined. Information will be shared through the Facebook page and with fliers to all youth.
These events offer an opportunity to learn about and possibly join any of the Butler County 4-H Clubs, Coleman said.
“We need parent/community volunteers,” Coleman said. “Do you have a skill and are willing to work with youth in our community who want to learn from you? Do you want to provide adult mentorship to the youth of our community? Please, get involved and become a 4-H volunteer. We need parents and community members who can lead project areas and want to work with youth. Please come out to our open house events in Neelyville, Poplar Bluff or Broseley for your chance to help the youth of our county learn and become involved in a skill or project that you organize.”
4-H programs are developing important life skills like leadership, responsibility, self-esteem, communication, critical thinking and good citizenship for youth.
“More importantly, we are having fun working together on numerous projects like arts and crafts, outdoor adventures, dog obedience, beef, rabbits, goats, horsemanship, robotics, archery, shotgun and other shooting sports programs,” Coleman said. “Thanks to a generous donation by the National Rifle Association, the Butler County 4-H programs have new shotgun and archery equipment with a value of more than $20,000. We are always looking to add more fun and exciting projects for our clubs.”
Butler County 4-H clubs currently have more than 75 youth in clubs. All youth ages 5-18 in Butler County are eligible to join.
“We hope to offer a wide range of projects and activities based upon the needs of our youth,” Coleman said. “Our current members would love to learn more about and be able to work on projects like robotics, coding, forestry, geology, woodworking and gardening. We need volunteers to lead these areas. If you are a youth interested in any of our current project areas, we want you in 4-H. If you are a parent or community member interested in teaching and mentoring our youth in an area of your expertise, we want you as a volunteer.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the 4-H program and clubs or volunteering to be a project leader, Coleman said, “please come to our open house/informational meeting events.”
For the Neelyville area contact Curtis Reinbott at 573-712-7238 or check out the Neelyville 4-H page on Facebook.
For the Twin Rivers area, the first meeting of the Royal Riders will be scheduled in October with more information to follow.
“We will have demonstrations and projects for you to see what we do in 4-H,” Coleman said.
He added, “Remember, 4-H introduces youth to projects from culinary to photography, gardening to shooting sports, and robotics to coding. What are you waiting for? To learn more about our projects and 4-H, please go to our website at http://4h.missouri.edu/ or come to one of our open house events.”
You may contact Coleman by email at colemanlb@missouri.edu or phone at 573-747-9253 or Kim Allison, Youth Program Associate, by email at allisonks@missouri.edu or by phone at 573-686-8064.
4-H is a non-profit youth organization sponsored by the University of Missouri Extension and the United States Department of Agriculture.