By John Wurm
ROSCOMMON – We have so many new things coming your way in 2019-20 that you won’t want to miss! We have a clear goal of helping our area young people have positive experiences with 4-H and have multiple connecting activities once they join. Our membership runs from September 1st for the 12 months that follow.
This is the best time to enroll kids in 4-H, so they may take advantage of a full year of 4-H programming in our county, surrounding counties, the state, and the nation! We have several new 4-H SPIN Clubs that are going on right now and several more that we expect to announce in the coming weeks and months. Our 4-H Bowling SPIN Clubs are going strong and you can expect to see more 4-H Bowling as we grow. Over in St. Helen we have a new 4H Cloverbuds program that is creating fun and activity-oriented experiences that are specific to our 5- to 7-year-old 4-H members.
VOLUNTEERS – We always stand ready to help new adults become a part of our growing program so they can help kids experience Roscommon County 4-H. We proudly have more than doubled the number of our volunteers just in the past year. Please give us a call to discuss how you can become a 4-H volunteer and make a difference in our kids’ lives.
We also have a new 4-H Community Club that is getting going here in the Roscommon area. Youth members will learn leadership skills as well as be able to participate in several of the 4-H learning projects that will be offered. This is a club that will meet monthly and there will be a lot going on in the months ahead as this new 4-H club really takes flight.
Have you got a great idea for a 4-H SPIN (SPecial INterest) Club? We introduce Annette Murray who will be working as our newest 4-H AmeriCorps member and her role will be working specifically to help new 4-H SPIN clubs get started.
The concept is simple: we have small clubs that have at least 5 members from 2 or more families with one caring 4-H volunteer to lead it. The commitment is only 6-8 hours and can be once a week for an hour or any combination of desired timeframe structures. We are very excited to have Annette joining our team.
Finally, as a huge thank you for a successful year, we have organized a teen 4-H event coming up on November 2nd. The Teen Fall Fest is going to be a blast and we invite you to recruit a few of your teen friends (4-H membership is not required) to play an unforgettable live game of Clue!
We have a great relationship with our new partners at Bambi Lake Camp and they are offering to provide all participants a FREE dinner, too. Also, if weather allows, we will have a bonfire and make s’mores.
John Wurm is the 4-H program director
