by Jeramy McNeely

As the March 1^st deadline for 4-H enrollment nears, I want to encourage any and all of you to consider enrolling your children in this unique organization.  It really does more than create havoc on your life! (If I were texting, I would put an LOL right here).  In a research study conducted by The Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development along with Tufts University, the data shows that kids who are in 4-H do better in life and excel beyond their peers.  Here are some of the stats:

4-H’ers are:

• Nearly 4x more likely to make contributions to their communities
• About 2x more likely to be civically active
• Nearly 2x more likely to participate in science programs during out-of-school time
• 2x more likely in grade 10 and 3x more likely in grade 12 to take part in science programs compared to girls in other out-of-school time activities
• Nearly 2x more likely to make healthier choices

The study also discovered that the structured out-of-school time learning, leadership experiences, and adult mentoring that young people receive through their participation in 4-H plays a vital role in helping them achieve success. They also develop skills to succeed in the workplace, improve goal-setting and decision-making skills, and how to care for the environment all while having lots of fun while learning by doing. For more information on this study you can visit http://4-h.org/about/research/.

Please give it some consideration.  Maybe just try it for a year.  What could it hurt?  If interested call the office at 719-438-5321.