4-H Motto: To Make the Best Better

4-H Pledge
I PLEDGE
My Head to clearer thinking
My Heart to greater loyalty
My Hands to larger service
My Health to better living
For my club, my community, my country, and my world

What is 4-H all about?
4-H is a youth program that provides hands-on learning opportunities for kids from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Kids can choose from a number of projects to be involved in, ranging from Animal Science to Computer Science to Expressive Arts. 4-H offers workshops, clinics, conferences, camps, community service projects and leadership development opportunities at the local, state and national levels. 4-H clubs are groups of young people with an adult volunteer who meet regularly for their chosen projects. 4-H members form lifelong friendships, develop leadership skills, and practice real-life application of concepts through project work. 4-H is not just for youths, parents and adult volunteers are also involved in 4-H. Contact us for more information on joining a 4-H club, or becoming a volunteer.

Membership and Enrollment Requirements
Membership is open to youths in Kindergarten who have reached their 5th birthday before January 1 of the current 4-H year, through those in the 12 grade or who have not reached their 19th birthday before January 1 of the current year.

Exceptions
Members must be in the 3rd grade AND have reached their 8th birthday by January 1 of the current 4-H year to be eligible for the following projects:
large animal projects including beef, dairy, goat, equine, sheep, llama, and swine.
competitive situations, including livestock shows or sales.
food preservation projects using hot water bath or pressure canning methods.
projects using firearms or motorized vehicles.

Kindergarten through second grade members may enroll in pygmy goat and horseless horse projects.

GRADE DIVISIONS
Primary: K - 2nd grade
Junior: 3rd - 5th
Intermediate: 6th - 8th
Senior: 9th - 12th

How is 4-H Delivered?

ORGANIZED 4-H CLUB
An organized group of youth with officers and a planned program carried throughout all or several months of the year. These may be single project clubs, multi-project (community) clubs, and family clubs.

INDIVIDUAL/FAMILY 4-H
Planned learning experiences that occur independent of a formal group setting, as an individual, mentoring, or family effort.
4-H Projects
Animal Sciences
Environmental Stewardship
Expressive Arts
Family Living
Interdisciplinary
Mechanical Sciences
Plant Sciences
Social Sciences

After School Programs

Challenge Experiential Learning

Forestry Education Program

Volunteers Needed!
Do you have certain skills that you would enjoy passing on to others? Everyone has some kind of expertise that could benefit the youths involved in 4-H. Volunteers are needed in a variety of projects, from sewing, to horseback riding, to public speaking. If you have experience in one of the projects, or just want to help children achieve their goals, being a 4-H volunteer is for you.

Why Should YOU Volunteer?

• Have fun with kids
• Be a mentor and have a positive impact on kids
• Stay young and active
• Receive training and develop new skills
• Meet new people and make friends
• Be a leader in your community

How Do YOU Become a Volunteer?

• Complete enrollment forms and volunteer applications
• You will be screened through Washington State Patrol
• Attend training session
  

4-H in Chelan & Douglas Counties

There are approximately 200 leaders and 800 members, including 150 youth with disabilities, enrolled annually in the many programs that are part of Chelan-Douglas 4-H. Our members participate in activities in their clubs, at county, state and national levels as well. In 4-H, members design their own learning experience and lay out their plan of action in Record Books, enlisting the assistance of their 4-H Leaders and their parents. Members range in age from kindergarten through high school. Project expectations become more difficult as the 4-Her gets older. Primary members, those in grades K-2, have some limitations when joining 4-H. We believe they are too young, developmentally, to safely handle large animals and that competition is not an appropriate learning strategy for this age group. Accordingly, they may not enroll in large animal projects because of concerns for the member's safety; also, they are not permitted to be judged competitively. For example they may exhibit at county fair but their exhibits - small animals or still life entries - are automatically given special ribbons; they are not judged against the standards for the exhibit as are those of all other members.

In our program, you can decide if you want to be part of the competitions that are available in 4-H or not. If not, the full range of projects and most county, state and national opportunities are still availableto you. Why not check out the many programs that are available through Chelan - Douglas County 4-H, where we "Make the best, better!"