Nebraska 4-H News

Every year, Nebraska 4-H Month sees thousands of young people, parents, volunteers, and alumni come together to celebrate the many positive youth development opportunities offered by 4-H. While celebrations may look different this year, Nebraska 4-H is looking forward to celebrating in new ways.

4-H is dedicated to providing opportunities for belonging. Through positive relationships with caring adults and inclusive and safe environments, young people find a sense of belonging in 4-H. The theme for this year's Nebraska 4-H Month celebration, I Belong, is a promotion created to celebrate 4-H members and encourage others to explore the opportunities for belonging in 4-H.

During Nebraska 4-H Month, youth will be encouraged to complete the 4-H enrollment process. 4-H is open to all youth ages 8-18. Over 150 projects in a variety of topic areas provide youth with an opportunity to find a 4-H project that fits their interests. By enrolling, youth have the opportunity to exhibit their 4-H projects at their local county fair and the Nebraska State Fair, as well as participate in other statewide contests. In 2021, Nebraska 4-H will also implement a new statewide enrollment deadline of June 15 for youth interested in participating in their county fair or the Nebraska State Fair.

This year's Nebraska 4-H Month celebration will kick off with 4-H Professionals Appreciation Day on Friday, February 5. Youth, parents, volunteers, and alumni are encouraged to find creative ways to thanks their local 4-H Educators, Assistants, and Staff. The month-long celebration will continue on Friday, February 12 with 4-H Volunteer Appreciation Day, an opportunity to celebrate the 12,000 volunteers including 4-H Club Leaders and Project Leaders who support 4-H programs across the state. On Friday, February 19, 4-H supporters are invited to show off their 4-H pride by wearing green or the 4-H clover for 4-H Spirit Day. Finally, the celebration will wrap up with 4-H Sponsor and Donor Appreciation Day on Friday, February 26. 

Nebraska 4-H Month virtual backgrounds are also available for 4-H supporters, and a new Nebraska 4-H - I Belong Facebook profile frame is also available. 

Many local celebrations and events will also be hosted throughout the month of February. Contact your local Extension office for more information about local celebrations. 

Looking for ways to keep your children busy during winter break? We've got you covered! From the team that brought you Living Room Learning, we're proud to announce our new Winter Fun Pack! We’re sharing 5 days' worth of activities that youth can easily do with materials that can be found at home. The Winter Fun Pack comes with instructional videos, easy-to-follow lessons, and family engagement activities to help fill the time at home during winter break. All these resources are available for FREE. Youth and families do not need to be involved in 4-H to access the resources or complete the activities. 

November is National Entrepreneurship Month! Did you know youth entrepreneurship is a program priority for Nebraska 4-H? Through various programs, Nebraska 4-H connects youth to important careers and strengthens their entrepreneurship skills. Entrepreneurship programs aim to increase the number of youth returning to rural communities in business and professions and to increase the number of youth who are entrepreneurs.

In celebration of National Entrepreneurship Month, teachers and educators are also invited to utilize a toolkit of free resources, including:

• Calendar of fun, easy activities to use as bell-ringers, energizers, and simple ways to engage students in entrepreneurial thinking
• Lesson plans designed to introduce students to entrepreneurship and building an entrepreneurial mindset by developing their non-cognitive skills
• Virtual field trips to connect students to real people working as entrepreneurs
• Spark to Start activity book containing activities, games, puzzles, and more to help students learn about starting a business

A sample Spark to Start activities book is also being sent to all 4th-grade teachers in Nebraska. To access the free resources, simply complete the classroom sign-up form. 

Congratulations to the 27 4-H members who participated in the 2020 State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest. The contest which is typically held at the Nebraska State Fair, was held virtually this year from October 5th through the 12th. Eleven intermediates and 16 seniors competed in the virtual contest, and a total of 12 counties were represented. 

Intermediate Individuals

1. Brooke Hilgenkamp, Washington County
2. Cora Payne, Seward County
3. Justine Wilkinson, Scotts Bluff County
4. Hannah Koziol, Richardson County
5. Kaid Hogan, Lincoln County

Intermediate Teams

1. Seward County - Cora Payne, Masa Brown, Ava Fischer
2. Washington County - Brooke Hilgenkamp, Aaron Fuchs, Ethan Hilgenkamp

Senior Individuals

1. Chase Racicky, Custer County
2. Allison Engelman, Jefferson County
3. Jenna Ruge, Madison County
4. Jacey Leech, Richardson County
5. Kaitlyn Hanson, Saunders County

Senior Teams

1. Richardson County - Jacey Leech, Abby Stalder, Hannah Kozial, Peyton Schaardt

Top Five Special Award Winners

1. Chase Racicky, Custer County
2. Allison Engelman, Jefferson County
3. Jenna Ruge, Madison County
4. Jacey Leech, Richardson County
5. Kaitlyn Hanson, Saunders County

Since 1976, when the initial group of 235 campers arrived at the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center to enjoy a week of summer fun, our mission has been to serve the youth of Nebraska and provide opportunities for them to Discover, Learn, and Grow. Over the past 44 years, we have been successful in supporting our mission through a variety of program options, including adult and youth retreat, outdoor education, summer overnight camp, and day camp programs.

As you know, COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the world that we once knew, including having significant impacts to our camp program. In early April, we made the very difficult decision to cancel all of our in-person programs including spring outdoor education and summer camp events. As a primarily seasonal business where most of our operating revenues are collected during the summer months to support our operations year-round, this decision had a significant impact on our budget. Thankfully, as sound fiscal managers, we had a reserve revenue fund to continue to operate through this time to continue programming virtually and salaries for five full-time employees. Unfortunately, we have come to the end of this reserve fund and discussions have turned to our next steps.

As part of the process, we explored how the Nebraska 4-H camp program can better reach youth where they are with innovative programs, utilizing research-based curricula delivered with a hands-on experimental learning model by talented youth development professionals. We are pleased to announce a NEW environmental education program series that will include both virtual and place-based programs for schools, home-school families, and afterschool programs. Of course, current and future 4-H members will always be among our key clients. As part of our goal to reach more youth, and with thoughtful consideration of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, our state 4-H team, and the Nebraska 4-H Foundation, we have made the extremely difficult decision to cease all operations at the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center in Gretna effective August 1, 2020.

While we may not have the same site presence, one thing that remains the same is our commitment to our partnership with you to help us work toward our mission to provide opportunities for youth to Discover, Learn, and Grow and we invite you to consider continuing your partnership with Nebraska 4-H in various ways.

Although we are disappointed in the closure of the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center, we are hopeful that our renewed commitment to broader environmental education offerings for youth will bring a new era of Nebraska 4-H Camping.