November 4-H Reporter

Check out our County Calendar here!

November

Enrollment Due by December 1, 2017

Every 4-H Club must have enrollment turned into the office by December 1. This includes your member payment form and a check for the fees for all members and volunteers. When we receive this list and payment, we can begin confirming your members.There are several who have been to meetings and say they are in 4-H this year but we are not seeing them in the enrollment systems. Members and Leaders are not allowed to participate in 4-H activities at any level, if they are not enrolled. Enrollment coordinators are responsible for making sure that each family attending meetings has enrolled and paid their fees. This is for the protection of all involved.

The Season of Giving

Before we know it, we will be in the holiday season where our 4-H clubs often turn to using their hands for larger service and making the season better for all. As you make your plans, please keep these things in mind:

4-H does not allow clubs to donate money to other organizations. This is true of many non-profits as this activity is outside the scope of their missions. You MAY have a fundraiser and purchase goods that you then donate.

Service Learning vs. Community Service. 4-H is a youth development organization, so developing our youth is our primary mission. When planning your service activities, be sure that youth are brainstorming who the recipients should be or what part of the community should be supported. Have youth form a committee to lead the activity and coordinate elements like sign ups and collections. When the project is complete, be sure to have time to talk about the project, the impact it made, and any other reflections that youth might want to share. These elements help create a lifelong attitude of help and serving.

Giving Tuesday: The California State 4-H Foundation will once again participate in Giving Tuesday. This day is the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and encourage people to think of their favorite non-profits as a part of their annual gift giving plans. Donors make their gift through a convenient online portal, and can designate the county and club where they would like their gift to go. The Foundation will then send the donations to the county offices where they will be distributed to the clubs. A complete Giving Tuesday toolkit is already available: http://4h.ucanr.edu/GivingTuesday/

A reminder that Salvation Army Bell-Ringing is Not Permitted. 4-H may not support or organize Salvation Army bell-ringing activities for 4-H members, projects, or community service/service learning. The Salvation Army is an evangelical organization. 4-H policies establish that 4-H units may not fundraise to support groups or organizations that fall within the category of being religious or political in nature or purpose.

2018 National Youth Summit on Agri-Science
January 12-15, 2018
National 4-H Conference Center in Washington, DC

Join delegates from across the country to explore Why science in agriculture is important, and why it matters to me and my community.

High school students, grades 9 through 12, are invited to participate and discover the role science plays in our food, animals, and health. They'll hear from today's science leaders about advancements in science and technology impacting our global food supply to understand just how much science matters in our everyday lives. Attendees will be immersed in an agenda focused on agriculture, food security, and sustainability while also getting the chance to learn more about careers in agri-science and develop action plans to impact their community.

Thanks to a new national partnership with Bayer, this year's Agri-Science Summit is ramping up to be the best yet!

REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Register and find out more information at National 4-H Youth Agri-Science Summit . Registration closes on December 29th.

OTHER WAYS TO GO

Show Why Science Matters to You and win a trip to the National Agri-Science Summit!

Do you have a passion for science and the role it plays in your everyday life? Show it by submitting a photo on how life science is behind the food you eat, benefits your health or helps your animals and write a caption telling us why science matters to you. All entries are due by November 26, 2017. High school students, grades 9 through 12.

There are two ways to enter:

1. Submit your photo and caption at https://4-h.org/ScienceMattersContest
2. Share your photo and caption on Instagram and be sure to tag it with #ScienceMattersContest

Submit a workshop proposal.

Share a successful program, teach a learning activity, or educate others about timely topics related to agri-science and why it's important. Up to 16 selected proposals will receive four free registrations! Access the submission form and details by downloading the Agri-Science Summit Workshop Proposal at www.NationalYouthSummits.org. The deadline for workshop submissions is Friday, December 1st.

Western Region Volunteer Development Opportunities

Dear Valued 4-H Volunteer,

In order to meet the changing needs of 4-H volunteers, the Western Region Program Leaders, have charged the Western Region Volunteer Specialists (WRVS) the task of seeking input and making recommendations about 4-H volunteer learning opportunities in the west.

The goals of this effort throughout the Western Region are to:

1. Increase volunteer participation in professional development opportunities.
2. Improve the access to learning opportunities for diverse populations of volunteers.
3. Improve intentional focus on positive youth development.
4. Ensure that learning opportunities are high quality, relevant, innovative, accessible and fun.

The reason for this work is that if 4-H volunteers increase participation in 4-H learning opportunities over time then positive youth development and program quality will increase for 4-H youth.

Volunteers throughout the Western Region will have opportunities to provide input toward volunteer learning strategies.

The timeline is:
Fall/Winter: Develop, distribute and administer tools to gather input from 4-H professionals and volunteers
March WRLF: Conduct focus groups in San Diego
March - April: Conduct region-wide online focus groups
March - May: Analyze data
June: Make recommendations to WR Program Leaders for future volunteer development endeavors.
August: WR Program Leaders determine course of action for future volunteer development endeavors.

To accomplish this work, the WRLF 2019 scheduled to be held in Utah is canceled while the recommendations are developed. Every effort will be made to provide 4-H volunteers with relevant and useful regional professional development opportunities as quickly as possible depending on the results of the listening tools.

We look forward to your participation in one or more of the listening opportunities to provide feedback to this important work. To participate face-to-face, be sure to register for WRLF 2018 in San Diego. Watch for other ways to provide input.

Regards,
Gemma M Miner, Academic Coordinator for Volunteer Engagement
On behalf of the Western Region 4-H Volunteer Specialists

Handbook for New Families

The “Handbook for New Families” is ready for release! It is attached here and will be emailed to a current list of new families. This list will be updated about 2-3 times per month over the next few months to help ensure this document gets to them. It can also be found on the website here: http://4h.ucanr.edu/About/ in the “Engaging Youth” section.

CA STEM EVENTS OCT- DEC
Hello everyone!

Here is the list of FREE or LOW-COST family STEM events in California for the months of late October thru December. These STEM events are great opportunities for our 4-H parents, youth, and volunteers to participate in and get excited about STEM! These events can also be a great field trip for STEM based clubs and programs. These events range from astronomy, coding, chemistry, dinosaurs, and more! 

I will also be posting this on the 4-H STEM website. Please feel free to email me with any questions or if you know of any STEM events that I missed! You can find more STEM events in your area on eventbrite!

Do you want to learn more about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)?  

Subscribe to receive CA 4-H STEM updates! This is a great way to stay informed on upcoming STEM events in California and opportunities for 4-H'ers and volunteers.

Click here to subscribe today!

From the 4-H Youth Development Advisor, Steven Worker

Click the link above to read our Advisor's monthly letter.

Pesident's Letter - Naomi Edwards

It has certainly been a hard October and early November. We have seen and experienced many moments. As I type this letter to you, I am thinking of the fabulous families represented here. I have seen and heard stories of our 4H family. I have seen the H-Head; quickly forming plans to distribute comfort blankets, food and clothing. H-Hands, sorting thousands of pounds of food and clothing. H-Health groups delivering essentials for living: soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, and towels.  H-Heart, families rose up to volunteer even though their home stood in ashes and some CCC board members shedding  tears as we discussed our 4H families that lost everything and what we can do next. We are 4H Strong and Sonoma County Strong. There are many ways to jump in and help families. Please let us know what your club is doing and if other clubs can help. We will be serving at the Redwood Empire Food Bank as a county in January. There will be many more opportunities to serve and use our 4H's.

Ohana, translated family in Hawaiian, is amazingly fitting as we have seen the 4H family this month rise up. Achievement night was fabulous, as always. Missy and Ariel planned and performed a great night of recognition for our youth. Surfboards that reflected each club, desserts that were too beautiful to eat, and friendships grown, are all thanks to Achievement Night.

The winter will bring food, fun and community service.

How about some youth send a letter to Jesenia about their experiences and projects??

Proud volunteer of Sonoma County 4H, Naomi

Community Stories

Stories of 4-H families helping others in the wildfire crisis

The UC Cooperative Extension 4-H staff wish to express our deepest condolences to those who have suffered a personal loss and who have been impacted by the fire siege. We found these stories inspiring us and wanted to share them with the 4-H community. Please share other stories at cesonoma4h@ucanr.edu.

Helping our Community by Jill Wesselkamper

Thankfully, we sent out a last minute email inviting our club to attend the meeting, if they could, with the understanding that the majority of the meeting was going to be dedicated to making fleece blankets for those displaced children who may have lost or left their own behind. Our club showed up in force and over the course of 1 1/2 hours dads, moms, grandparents and kids prepped, cut and tied over 30 blankets! They have been distributed to the children of Rincon Valley School District as well as families in the Mark West and Coffey Park neighborhoods. The meeting proved inspiring for many as we are continuing to make blankets at home for ongoing donations.

Fundraising
Regarding types of permissible fundraisers (e.g., bake sale, car wash, silent auction, letter appeal): they need to follow 4-H Fundraising Guidelines (see http://4h.ucanr.edu/Resources/Policies/Chapter9/#VII Section D). It is difficult to provide a blanket response that all types of fundraisers are permissible because they aren't (e.g., raffles, paintball tournaments, protection money). This is why we request 4-H Clubs to vote on fundraisers and complete Form 8.7 Fundraising Approval (link: http://4h.ucanr.edu/files/19878.pdf). Form 8.7 is important so UCCE/we can provide feedback to help Clubs modify a fundraiser if it is not appropriate.In short, 4-H groups may not give cash contributions to any group or organization outside of 4-H. So if your 4-H Club is coordinating the bake sale, collecting money (cash, checks), you will not be able to donate those funds to an outside agency/organization. You could purchase materials/supplies and donate them as part of a service learning activity (see Chapter 9, Section VII. D. 4. In the policy manual).

New Project Leader Checklist

This checklist is designed to assist 4-H project leaders in preparing to implement their project(s) prior to meeting with youth

http://4h.ucanr.edu/files/254367.pdf

4-H does not endorse  any person in the community who make requests. As always, please use caution when contacting someone. 4-H members who accept listed jobs are doing so as an individual, outside of the scope of the 4-H program.

 4H Nubian Dairy Goats
My daughter, Hailey, has been a member of Montclair 4H (Oakland area) for the past 5 years. She is selling two of her Nubian dairy goats (dam and doeling), and ideally would like to see them go to another 4H member.

The dam, born 3-6-2014, is registered with ADGA, and has great blood lines. She has twice won "grand champion" at county fair and has been commended for great dairy character, topline, general appearance, and excellent milk production.  She is part of a CAE negative herd, is current on all shots, and is disbudded.

Her doeling was born 4-15-17, and is also registered, CAE negative, current on all shots and disbudded. Hailey is asking $400 for each goat; however, she will provide a discount for 4H members.

If any of your 4H Dairy Goat project members are interested in either of our goats, please feel free to have them contact me by email or phone. Thank you for your assistance.

With kind regards, Barbara   (208) 841-0965

Giving Back to 4-H

Good morning 4-H Clubs & Affiliatd 4-H Organizations,
During October, November and December, supporters and members of 4-H Clubs & Affiliatd 4-H Organizations are invited to host fundraising dinners at local Santa Rosa restaurants.
Restaurants like Steele & Hops, Kevlar Cafe, and Ike's Place, will donate back 15% of sales to 4-H Clubs & Affiliatd 4-H Organizations. You can choose up to 3 dates but as the GroupRaise community near 4-H Clubs & Affiliatd 4-H Organizations keeps growing, these dates will go quickly.

To book an event simply, view restaurant locations, choose your fundraiser dates, and make a request online. It only takes a few minutes!
View Restaurants Giving Back To 4-H Clubs & Affiliatd 4-H Organizations

A restaurant fundraiser is an awesome way to raise money for 4-H Clubs & Affiliatd 4-H Organizations and get together with your members and supporters to show appreciation for all the work you've done.
I hope these opportunities can be of use to 4-H Clubs & Affiliatd 4-H Organizations!

Bridget Letts
GroupRaise | The most delicious way to change the world

Feel free to forward this to anyone who may find the information useful.