170 attend Southeast 4-H gathering

Nearly 170 young and old 4-H members from Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Perry, Oregon, Scott, Stoddard and Wayne counties attended the 10th anniversary and biggest 4-H Southeast Regional Energizer to date recently in Advance.

Opening speaker Richard Rickman talked about “Our Health to Better Living.” He is a University of Missouri Extension County Engagement Specialist in 4-H Youth Development.

The program’s purpose was to bring a fun-filled event close to home for youth to learn, gather new ideas, and meet other 4-H youth from the region. This year’s focus was the fourth H – Health which is about health to better living, which breaks into two categories: being and living.

Each category is broken down further: Being - self-esteem, self-responsibility, character, managing feelings and self-discipline. Living - healthy lifestyle choices, stress management, disease prevention, personal safety.

Youth workshops included Vaping Dangers, Surviving Your Teen Years, Coping Skills, Water Safety CSI, Kitchen Sense, Personality self-esteem, Climate and Your Health, Bees &and Milk, Stress Management, The A unique opportunity for participants to impact their communities was available. Youth participants ages 12 and up and an interested adult had the option to get free training in Youth Action Research. In the training, a health-related issue was identified and the group learned skills and tools to: 1) gather information about the health-related issue, 2) identify existing resources in their community, and 3) develop a plan for how their club can take action on the issue.

Club members are then able to apply for a $250 mini-grant to fund their project; the funding comes with additional training and ongoing support from a MU faculty member.

Missouri 4-H is a community of nearly 230,000 youth ages 5-18 from all walks of life - rural farming communities, suburban schoolyards, and urban neighborhoods. 4-H youth learn leadership, citizenship, and life skills, guided by more than 9,100 caring adult volunteers statewide.