Toombs Youth Celebrate National 4-H Week

Georgia 4-H is a youth organization that helps young people acquire knowledge, life skills and form attitudes that will enable them to become self-productive members of society. This program sets adolescents up for growth, learning, and working together for positive change. During National 4-H week, citizens across Georgia celebrate all of the fantastic things that Georgia 4-Hers have accomplished.

4-H is the largest youth organization in the United States, with an astonishing six million adolescents throughout 3,007 counties. Georgia has one of the country’s most extensive state 4-H programs, with a total of 175,000 young people. 4-H is delivered by cooperative extension, so in Georgia, 4-H is an extension of the University of Georgia.

The origins of Georgia 4-H came about when the Newton County Boys Corn Club was founded, and two years later, the Girl Canning Club was founded in Hancock County. It wasn’t until the early 1920’s that these clubs were referred to as the 4-H clubs. Today, 4-H offers many more opportunities than just agriculture. 4-H offers public speaking, judging teams, STEM, and many more!

The theme for this year’s National 4-H Week, Opportunity For All, is a campaign that the National 4-H Council created to rally support for Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program and showcase the incredible experiences that 4-H offers youth. Whether you are from an urban city, like Atlanta, or a rural community, like Toombs, there is an opportunity for all. 4-H is an organization that allows so much more than just agriculture. 4-H offers many different opportunities to everyone across the state of Georgia, whether you live in an urban city or a rural non-farm.

Toombs County 4-H has 800 youth participants. Local UGA Extension 4-H agent Cheryl Poppell, 4-H Educator Riley Wimberly, and Carol Hester, Ameri-Corps member, lead the Toombs 4-H program.

In Toombs County, youth can participate in shooting sports, camps, conferences, public speaking events, and judging teams, to name a few. Toombs County took over 90 cloverleaf (5-6th grade) 4-Hers to camp this past summer! This number was a significant accomplishment since participant numbers have decreased due to COVID- 19. Whether you are a cloverleaf 4-H’er, a Junior 4-H’er (7-8th grade), or a Senior 4-H’er (9-12th grade), there is a place for you in 4-H!

One of the most popular events in Georgia 4-H is Project Achievement. Project Achievement is where youth perform community service, conduct research, and compile a portfolio of their project work. Participants present an oral speech to judges about any topic they choose. Thousands of 4-H’ers across Georgia start on the local level; then Project Achievement winners advance to represent at the State and/or the National levels.

For more information, visit georgia4h.org or contact your local Toombs Extension office at 912-5263101.

Opportunity for Community Service: Senior 4-H’ers Riya Patel and Brittney Bryant volunteer with His Works Ministry in Lyons to unload supplies for families during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Opportunity for Fun: Cloverleaf 4-H’ers; Claire Beasley and Brielle Singleton are ready to take a trip across Rock Eagle Lake as they canoe for the first time at 4-H summer camp.

Opportunity for Nutrition Exploration: Cloverleaf 4-H’er Emi Powell uses knowledge of MyPlate, and food groups learned from 4-H to win top honors in the Food Challenge Smoothie Recipe contest. She is pictured with Riley Wimberly, 4-H Educator.

Opportunity for Curiosity: Cloverleaf 4-H’er Nathalie Pittman takes part in the herpetology class at Rock Eagle 4-H Camp and faces her fears as she holds a snake.

Opportunity for Leadership: Senior 4-H’er Grace Holt was elected to the 2022-23 State 4-H Board of Directors. Grace is pictured with Bradley Moye, former Toombs AmeriCorps member, Cheryl Poppell, 4-H Coordinator and Riley Wimberly, 4-H Educator.