Head, heart, hands and help are the four things the Hs in the 4-H Club stands for, as the youth development program takes aim at providing young people education while teaching them basic life skills.
4-H spokeswoman Kali Zammit, herself a part of 4-H for nine years as a youth, the program is all about helping young people grow as people.
“To me, the greatest growth I’ve seen has been when they are feeling comfortable with who they are,” Zammit said. “They’re comfortable with being themselves and with being involved. We grow leaders here.”
Zammit noted that there’s something of a positive circle formed as young people who have been taught to lead and be involved become proactive in teaching their younger fellow 4-H participants.
“You can see them developing into role models at a young age,” Zammit said. “They’re putting on presentations and getting out into the community to do good things.”
Youths can join both school and community-based 4-H clubs. Throughout the year, 4-H participants come together to make a difference in their community. That could entail putting together a toy and food drive to provide for the less fortunate or planting trees for the sake of wetlands restoration. At other times, 4-H members may visit the elderly or volunteer to help at a local nursing home.
Examples of some of the 4-H community clubs are the Shooting Sports Club, where youths learns about firearms safety, marksmanship and leadership skills by participating in monthly meetings, trainings and competitions; CHEF (Cooking, Healthy Eating, and Fitness), where members learn to prepare and eat healthy meals while incorporating fitness in their day-to-day lives; and the Fashion Club where members learn about sewing and fashion by attending monthly workshops.
For information on how to participate in the 4-H club program, contact Kali Zammit by calling (985) 785-4473 or via e-mail at kzammit@agcenter.lsu.edu.
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