January 2025 4-H Newsletter | Currently active 4-H Adult Volunteers and 4-H Members are subscribed to the California 4-H State newsletter. If you unsubscribe you will stop receiving ALL emails from the California 4-H state office. Please click UPDATE PROFILE below if you want to remove yourself from this list but still remain on other California 4-H mailing lists. View as Webpage | |
Discover with the Director | |
Happy New Year, 4-H Community!
I hope your winter break was filled with love, laughter, too much great food and unforgettable time with family and friends. I know mine was. As a result, I returned to the Golden State feeling revived and pumped for the amazing year in store for us. Before we dive into the possibilities ahead, there are a few highlights from December and other points of concern that I would like to share with our community.
First, please allow me to acknowledge everyone in Southern California who has been impacted by the devastating wildfires. They are certainly in our thoughts and hearts. We are engaging with other organizations who are receiving donations on behalf of impacted communities, including the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. For more information on how you can help, please visit Community Response & Action| YMCA Metro LA.
Next, congratulations to Dr. Matt Rodriguez and the team he is leading who just received a $25,000 grant from the Extension Disaster Education Network. The funded proposal is entitled "Promoting Healthy People and Communities: A Youth Mental Health First Aid Project”. Team members include Jenna Colburn, Alexandra (Ally) Lemmer, Nathaniel Caeton, JoLynn C Miller, and Nicole Marshall-Wheeler.
Our very own Kimberly Sinclair Holmes (me!) recently completed a national entrepreneurship educator certificate program hosted by the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE). I hope to collaborate with anyone in CA 4-H who is already delivering youth entrepreneurship programming with the aim of developing a statewide youth entrepreneurship program in the near future. If you are working in youth entrepreneurship, please contact me via email using ksholmes@ucanr.edu.
Kudos to Ms. Susan Weaver, Regional Program Coordinator Extraordinaire who led the implementation of 4-H Region 7’s 3rd Leadership Engagement with Awesome People (LEAP) Conference this past weekend in Hayward, CA. The event was an amazing success due to great effort from all 4-H personnel and 4-H youth on the planning committee, including but not limited to Brenda Vales, Zubia Mahmood, Tanya Daly, T’Nay Pham, and Itzel Uribe Torres. The session speakers, 4-H’ers, parents and volunteers were all quite awesome. Let’s keep up the excellence!
As we look ahead in the coming months, we will be strategically engaging our workgroups and advisory committees to gain inputs, insights and suggestions for expanding our partnerships and reach into communities with youth who are not currently connected to the 4-H Program. As the collaborations take shape and expand, we will invite you to partner in these efforts, so your expertise and experiences are honored through use as we serve all youth. Thank you (youth and adults) for your continued willingness to be a light as we step into the uncertainty of tomorrow. We carry with us the hope (the fifth ‘H’ in my mind) that as long as we travel the pathways of tomorrow together, we will achieve our common goal of helping all California youth thrive and succeed.
In Community and With Steadfast, Unmovable Hope…
P.S. Since we have finally entered the season in which it rains in the Sacramento area, I have discovered green grass and palm trees! LOL! Love these!
| |
Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | |
Each year, on the Monday after January 15, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. As you reflect upon his life’s work, organize days of service, and engage in other activities to honor his fight for racial justice, I’d encourage you to take a moment to connect the work of Dr. King to the work we do in 4-H. Take a moment to watch this brief video, where Dr. King pointed directly to the racial disparities in cooperative extension: | |
How do we acknowledge, address, and remedy these persistent inequities? And how do we talk to our young people about them? Check out “Beyond I Have a Dream” for lesson plans, readings, and materials, or read up on Dr. King’s Legacy in Agriculture.
Want to learn more about how to bring in these important social justice topics into your work? Contact Kait, the Access, Equity, and Belonging Academic Coordinator at kamurray@ucanr.edu!
| |
Join the Pilot Farm Robotics Challenge Academy | |
The Farm Robotics Challenge is exploring what it would look like to build an option for secondary school students to participate in the challenge. Our goal is to build out categories for participation that we can roll out for the 2025/26 academic year.
If you’re a high school teacher or leader in organizations like FFA, 4-H, Grange, or other youth serving institution and have a passion for technology and project-based work, consider joining our pilot group.
Teams have the choice of participating in the AIR or LAND categories as outlined in the post secondary school level challenge.
January 24, 2025 – Registration for pilot group due
February 21, 2025 – Project Proposals due
April 24, 2025 – Final Projects Due
May, TBA – Awards
August 1, 2025 – Top 3 teams advance to a Championship Round
Learn more about us and sign up to join our Academy Pilot Group at https://www.farmroboticschallenge.ai/academy.
The Farm Robotics Challenge is organized by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems (AIFS), with support from the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Initiative (F3).
| |
The Volunteer Café Webinar Series | |
The Volunteer Café is a free webinar series for 4-H volunteers, offered every two months. Visit our website to view past sessions, access resources, download the topic menu, or register for the next webinar.
https://bit.ly/volunteer-cafe
Sign up today for our next webinar on February 20!
OUTDOOR ADVENTURE CLUBS
Thursday, February 20, 2025
7pm – 8pm
Via Zoom: Register to receive login information.
Get an overview of different adventure programs offered in Utah 4-H! Learn about the types of adventure programs offered in Utah, things to consider when offering adventure programming, and walk through purposes for adventure programming. There will be discussion time to brainstorm ideas and resources for adventure programs in your local area. During this session we will also practice some of the health and wellness breaks we include during our programs.
Led by Stacey MacArthur and Cindy Nelson from the Utah 4-H program.
| |
Alumni & Friends Happy Hour February 8 |
The California 4-H Foundation is connecting 4-H Alumni & Friends across the state! Join us at Sudwerk Brewing Co. in Davis for a fun, laid-back happy hour and take a trip down memory lane with fellow 4-H alumni and friends! Appetizers will be served and the first drink is on us! Whether it’s reminiscing about your favorite 4-H moments or simply enjoying good drinks and even better company, this is the perfect chance to relive those great times and make some new memories along the way. We can’t wait to reconnect with you!
This is an all-ages event. Alcoholic beverages will only be served to guests who are 21 years of age or older. Age verification will be conducted by Sudwerk, and a valid photo ID is required.
REGISTER: bit.ly./4halumandfriends-davis
Sudwerk Brewing Co.
2001 2nd St, Davis, CA 95618
February 8, 2025
4:00-6:00 PM
Presented by the California 4-H Foundation
Who Should Attend
4-H alumni, friends of the 4-H program, 4-H parents, current 4-H volunteers, people interested in becoming 4-H volunteers, supporters of 4-H, 4-H donors.
Save the Date
Can't make the Happy Hour in Davis? Save the date for the following future Happy Hours in 2025 specific locations and details will be announced soon:
May 11, 2025 - LA/ Ventura County
July 19 or 20, 2025 (date to be confirmed) - Alameda/ Santa Clara County
October 2025 (date to be confirmed) - Santa Barbara County
Contacts for More Information
Registration & Logistics: Kate Lyn Sutherland, ANR Program Support or call (530) 750-1361
Program: Carolyn Warne, California 4-H Foundation
| |
For all 4-H Camps: Sign up for the Camping Institute by February 21
The 4-H Camping Advisory Committee would like to invite you to join us in Davis for the 4-H Camping Institute on March 1, 2025. Experience a day of learning, preparing, and developing the skills you'll need to help put together a successful 4-H camp in your county!
Whether you're an adult director who NEEDS this training, or an adult or youth volunteer who WANTS this training, this day is for you. We will have a variety of workshops to help you better understand roles and responsibilities of a camp director, risk management, where you can find support for yourself and your camp, and how to make sure your camp is providing a positive outcome for the youth who attend. We look forward to seeing you there!
Who should attend:
- 4-H professional staff
- 4-H adult camp directors or adult camp staff
- 4-H youth camp directors welcome (not required)
At the Camping Institute, you will learn:
- The roles and expectations of 4-H Camp Directors
- Risk management and emergency planning
- How to set the tone at camp
- How to find, train, and support others (building your camp team)
Details:
- Date: March 1, 2025
- Times: 10:00am-4:30pm
- Location: UC ANR Building, Valley Conference Center, 2801 2nd Street, Davis, CA 95618
- Lunch and snacks will be provided.
Register by Friday February 21, 2025:
Contact:
| |
December 31 marks the end of the 6-month overlap of service. This is the grace period that allows Adult Volunteers enrolled in the 2023-2024 year to continue to serve the program into the 2024-2025 year. For the remainder of the current program year, you must have Active enrollment status in ZSuite prior to serving as a 4-H Adult Volunteer.
Please work with your local county 4-H office to complete all Volunteer appointment requirements so your enrollment may be approved in ZSuite and made Active.
| | | | |