Join 4-H

The 4-H opportunity is available to you in a number of ways. Member enrollment deadline in June 1 of each year. Some animal projects have an earlier identification date for the animal.

4-H Club Membership

• A 4-H Club is five or more members with an adult leader.
• The club may be all girls, all boys, or boys and girls in a mixed group.
• Meetings are held regularly for business, project lessons and recreation.
• Individual clubs determine the feasibility of club dues, their own year-round program, time and place of meetings, and number of meetings to be held.
• Clubs function under the leadership of volunteer adult leaders.

Are There Any Dues or Costs?

There is an annual educational fee of $15.00 per member. Local clubs sometimes decide to have club dues to use for club activities like field trips, picnics, etc.

What is a Project?

A project is a subject matter based task or series of learning activities that each individual member is involved in to ‘learn by doing’.

A record book is provided for each of the over 150 different projects that a member may choose from. These records are maintained by the member. There are all kind of projects from building rockets and raising livestock to learning how to be a leader. Here are a few that are popular in Potter County.
Animal Science- Livestock & Dairy
Archery/ Shooting Sports
Babysitting
Horses
Leadership Skills
Pet Care
Photography
Sewing & Cooking
Rocketry
Theatre Arts
 
Project work is supervised and evaluated by a teen or adult volunteer leader. Completion of the project entitles the member to have their work judged as “ Blue”, “Red” or “White” merit with a completion certificate and ribbon to reflect the level of accomplishment of the member’s work. There is an opportunity for exhibition and competitive evaluation of their project work at the Potter County Fair held each year.  It is recommended that a member only select 1-2 projects to complete their first year.

4-H Youth Opportunities

Our 4-H program provides opportunities in cultural & citizenship education, leadership development and personal development.

Cultural & Citizenship Education

Cultural Exchange - people to people program; out of state experience where ideas and customs are shared and exchanged; one year you host and the next year you travel.
International 4-H Youth Exchange (IFYE) - an in-depth experience for youth 19 to 25 to live with host families in one of 25 countries on 6 continents.
Community Service - practicing good citizenship by aiding the community such as beautification projects, adopting a nursing home, and working with nursery schools.
Capital Days - opportunity for members to gain a better understanding of their State Government and their role as citizens of Pennsylvania.
Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) - a chance to see Congress in action; to learn the meaning of citizenship and appreciate the working of our U.S. Government.

Leadership Development

Camp Counselor - leadership experience in a day camp or over-night camp.
Elected Club Officer - an opportunity to learn how to conduct a meeting; responsibility of leading your local club.
Teen Leader - work under the guidance of an adult leader to help plan in advance specific parts of the club's program for which they will be responsible.
Ambassadors - group of 4-H members who present information promoting 4-H to public groups.
State Leadership Conference - SLC is a group of teens who want to make a difference. The SLC focuses on leadership and community service.

Personal Development

Presentations - a way for a 4-H member to demonstrate some phase of their project; also aides the member in public speaking.
State Achievement Days - an event held annually at Penn State University; offers competition in demonstrations, public speaking, judging contests, project knowledge and fashion revue.
Overnighters - a two day experience where 4-H members can come together with other 4-H members who share a common interest for the purpose of education and the exchange of ideas.
Camps - workshops on nutrition, health, nature, personal development along with leisure education and recreation with fellow 4-H members.
Project Work - 4-H offers a variety of projects (over 150!) to meet everyone’s' interests; learn by doing is stressed.