ADS
[Image: https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/extension-topics/north-dakota-4-h-youth-development]
April is a BUSY month for North Dakota 4-H! April is North Dakota 4-H Hands to Larger Service month and also happens to be the same month that National Volunteer Week falls in.
April is the time for 4-H’ers to come together to make an extra effort to serve others. Did you know that service learning is different from service work? Service learning is a process that involves the youth’s ideas, carrying out a plan, celebrating success, reflecting upon what went well, areas to improve, and what skills were gained.
Many times, we get community service confused with service learning. Community service is usually planned by adults, meets a “perceived” need, or learning is implied or done without a purpose. Where as service learning has youth involved in planning, meets the needs of the community, learning is intentional, there is time for reflection and to celebrate success as a group or community.
Service learning is an important piece of 4-H, it will empower youth to make a difference in their community and state. Easy steps to get started with your service learning project are preparation, action, reflection, celebration, and future plans. Preparation in involves planning and researching the needs of your community. Now that you have prepared your idea, put your plan into action by getting everyone on board and involved! Reflect by keeping a journal or discussing what each youth learned or what went well in your action step. Celebrate because YOU made a difference, and remember to share your story with the local newspaper. What does your group want to do next? Don’t forget to find ways to build on your success or how you can make more impacts in your community.
Service learning inspires youth to do more! The ideas for service learning projects are endless. Help care for animals at the local vet or humane society, paint a mural in the community, build a birdhouse or bee hotel, make a basket of homemade cookies for local businesses to thank them for supporting your youth program, collect food items to make a food basket for the food pantry, or plant a garden or flower together with the nursing home. Join together and help show how 4-H youth are making a difference in North Dakota!
This year National Volunteer Week is April 16-22, 2023. NDSU Extension relies heavily on volunteers to make our counties go around. Whether it be our 4-H volunteers, Extension Advisory Council members or our Ag. Improvement Association members, I want to thank them for their dedication in supporting NDSU Extension and making a difference. Volunteers give their time, talents, and energy to our NDSU Extension programs. The Sheridan County 4-H would not be what it is today without our 4-H volunteers. A 4-H volunteer is many things; a mentor, advisor, friend, teacher, referee, role model, and so much more. Most importantly, a 4-H leader genuinely cares about young people and wants them to thrive and prosper. I am lucky to have a wonderful group of 4-H volunteers who aren’t afraid to step-up and make our 4-H program a successful one. 4-H volunteers help teach, plan and conduct events, lead activities and projects, organize 4-H clubs, chaperone trips, contributes by promoting and supporting 4-H, and many other tasks. Their hard work and dedication to 4-H does not go unnoticed! Join me in celebrating National Volunteer Week and thank those volunteers who have made a difference in yours or your family’s lives.
Stayed tuned! It is beginning to look a lot more like County Fair and Achievement Day season!
Sarah Crimmins is originally from Northwestern Montana where she grew up with cattle and horses. Competing at her county 4-H Horse Shows and competing at Montana High School Rodeos led her to compete at the collegiate level for the Montana State Bobcats Rodeo Team. She moved to North Dakota after graduation and met her husband, Eric. They have two daughters and call McClusky, ND home, where she is the Sheridan County NDSU Extension Agent.